Total joint arthroplasty and deep venous thrombosis / 中华创伤骨科杂志

ABSTRACT

Deep venous thrombosis (DVT) is initiated intraoperatively and may display symptoms postopera- tively following total hip or total knee arthroplasties. Pulmonary embolism (PE) and DVT cause morbidity and mortality. It has been established that patients who undergo a major lower-extremity joint replacement should receive prophylaxis due to the increased risk of DVT. Despite use of thrombo-prophylaxis, elective replacement surgery carries a high risk of venous thromboembolic complications. The early detection of DVT and treatment with systemic anticoagulation to pre- vent DVT are essential in the management of patients undergoing total joint arthroplasty. Extended medical throm- bo-prophylaxis is indicated for some high-risk patients. Routine postoperative duplex surveillance for DVT may be clinically useful. In the early post-operative phase, combined prophylaxis such as low-molecular-weight heparins and mechanical methods may be more effective than single intervention measures. However, the efficacy and safety of an- ticoagulation therapy, using various medicines administered after total arthroplasty of large joints are still undetermined and controversial.We should also be alert to the frequency and extent of postoperative hematomas. There are still many uncertainties in treatments to prevent DVT in terms of safety and cost-effectiveness. Therefore, prospective, ran- domised, controlled and multicenter studies may be necessary to obtain valuable information according to evidence based medicine.