Late Breaking Abstract - Pulmonary embolism in patients with COVID-19: Time to change thromboprophylaxis paradigm

Introduction: The current COVID-19 research has calculated VTE incidence in critical care which is 25% We designed an increased dose thromboprophylaxis protocol based on D-dimer and weight for all patients that were admitted to respiratory wards Objectives: To assess the incidence of pulmonary embolism pre and post protocol and to assess 30 days mortality rate Methods: We evaluated retrospectively the incidence of pulmonary embolism for all COVID 19 patients admitted to respiratory wards before and after the modified protocol Results: View inline Discussion: Our thromboprophylaxis protocol change demonstrated a decrease in incidence of PE, fewer ITU admissions, and a reduced length of stay We suggest that in the pre-protocol population, the rapid deterioration of patients requiring invasive ventilation may be related to embolic phenomenon and microvascular thrombi rather than progression of COVID-19 There was one clinically significant bleed in Pre-protocol group Therefore, it is essential to consider escalated thromboprophylaxis for all patients admitted to hospital with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 infection With the still significant rate of PE, and lack of significant bleeding in the post protocol group, a randomised controlled trial of higher thromboprophylaxis versus treatment dose anticoagulation is now required