Guidelines decrease DVT in the elderly

GRENOBLE, France, Oct. 23 (UPI) -- Following guidelines on deep vein thrombosis (DVT) prevention in hospital patients age 65 and up reduces the rate of DVTs in this population.

So concluded Elodie Seillier and her colleagues at Joseph Fourier University in Grenoble, France, who studied a total of 1,373 patients over age 65 before and after evidence-based clinical guidelines on DVT prevention were implemented in 33 post-acute care facilities in France.

The guidelines recommended that patients recovering from major surgery or who had developed a DVT before, be given prophylactic medication against clots in addition to receiving the physical therapy, compression stockings, and other non-drug preventive measures recommended for other patients. Educational sessions on DVT awareness and treatment were held for medical staff members, posters were placed in each facility, and doctors and nurses were given reminder cards with the guidelines listed on them.

The team evaluated 709 patients before the guidelines were implemented and 664 patients after they were put in place.

They saw a 12.8 percent incidence of DVTs in the first group, which dropped to 7.8 percent when guidelines were followed.

While the change in drug use under the new guidelines was modest and did not produce statistically significant results, the increase in the number of patients who used graduated compression stockings was major and the authors thought it was the main driver of the decrease in DVTs.

The study appears in the October 23 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.