CardioExchange Archive

November 3rd, 2014

Economic Study Finds VTE Prophylaxis with Low-Molecular-Weight Heparin Cost Effective

Larry Husten, PHD

Critically ill patients in the hospital are at high risk for developing venous thromboembolism (VTE). The 2011 PROTECT trial compared the two most common drug strategies used to prevent VTE — unfractionated heparin (UFH) and dalteparin, a low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH) —  and found no difference between the two groups in the primary endpoint of the trial, leg deep-vein thrombosis. But […]

---

February 11th, 2013

Selections from Richard Lehman’s Literature Review: February 11th

Richard Lehman, BM, BCh, MRCGP

This week’s topics include the effect of ramipril on walking times and quality of life among those with PAD and intermittent claudication, genetic associations with valvular calcification and aortic stenosis, and more.

---

December 28th, 2011

No Mortality Benefit of Low-Molecular-Weight Heparin in Acutely Ill Patients

Larry Husten, PHD

Although venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a serious problem for acutely ill patients in the hospital, a new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine failed to find any improvement in mortality associated with thromboprophylaxis. Ajay Kakkar and the LIFENOX investigators randomized 8307 acutely ill patients to receive enoxaparin or placebo for 10 days. All patients wore elastic […]

---

December 22nd, 2010

Apixaban Beats Enoxaparin for Thromboprophylaxis After Hip Replacement

Larry Husten, PHD

In the ADVANCE-3 trial 5,407 hip replacement patients were randomized to receive thromboprophylaxis with either the new oral factor Xa inhibitor apixaban or enoxaparin. The rate of DVT, nonfatal PE, or death from any cause was 1.4% in the apixaban group compared to 3.9% in the enoxaparin group (RR 0.36, CI 0.22-0.54, P<0.001), thereby demonstrating […]

---