Early versus delayed thromboprophylaxis with LMWH in pelvic-acetabular trauma- a prospective study

ABSTRACT BACKGROUND Delayed presentation of pelvic-acetabular fractures is a common scenario in developing countries and there is usually a delay of more than 24 hours in their presentation. OBJECTIVES We aim to comparatively analyse early( 24 hours) thromboprophylaxis with low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) in prevention of deep venous thrombosis (DVT) in Pelvic Acetabular fractures. METHODS Patients of pelvic-acetabular fractures who presented during 1 year of study period were divided into 2 groups after exclusion of patients with contraindications for thromboprophylaxis. Group A included patients who received LMWH prophylaxis within 24 hours of injury. Group B included patients who received LMWH prophylaxis after 24 hours of injury. All patients underwent CT venography at day 14 and were followed up with doppler ultrasound on 4th and 8th week. RESULTS 110 patients with pelvic-acetabular fractures were included after exclusion of 61 patients. 4 out of 29 patients in group A (13.8%) and 12 out of 81 patients (14.8%) in group B developed DVT. There was no significant difference in incidence of DVT between Group A and B (P value-0.893). CONCLUSION There was no difference between early and delayed thromboprophylaxis with LMWH in pelvic-acetabular trauma.