Thromboprophylaxis in spinal surgery : a survey of current practice in South Africa

Show simple item record

dc.contributor.author Jacobs, H.W. (Hans)
dc.contributor.author Zondagh, Ian
dc.contributor.author Wessels, Pieter Frederik
dc.date.accessioned 2018-08-16T04:45:31Z
dc.date.available 2018-08-16T04:45:31Z
dc.date.issued 2017
dc.description.abstract BACKGROUND : Patients undergoing spinal surgery are at risk of developing venous thromboembolism (VTE) because of co-morbidities and immobilisation, but the morbidity of bleeding and haematoma formation complicates prophylaxis. A balance between VTE prevention and haematoma formation is therefore critical. Adding to the complexity is that there are currently no clear guidelines on managing these patients and little evidence in the literature. In order to improve management, it is imperative to first establish the current practice of thromboprophylaxis in spinal surgery in South Africa. METHODS : A survey of surgeons’ peri-operative thromboprophylactic management was conducted with 112 spinal surgeons. RESULTS : The results indicated that a large group of surgeons did not follow a standardised protocol. Mechanical prophylaxis was not used optimally and more surgeons used chemical prophylaxis routinely than mechanical prophylaxis. The surgeons mostly agreed on the type of chemical prophylaxis used and the time of commencement thereof. Contrary to the literature, the surgeons in this study did not differentiate between the surgical approaches used. CONCLUSION : There is currently no consensus on the management of thromboprophylaxis, as evident from the varying responses regarding treatment and complications. It is clear that mechanical prophylaxis is currently under-utilised. Spinal surgeons would benefit from a standardised protocol, and the vast majority of participants in the study agreed with this recommendation. en_ZA
dc.description.department Medical Oncology en_ZA
dc.description.department Orthopaedic Surgery en_ZA
dc.description.librarian am2018 en_ZA
dc.description.uri https://www.saoa.org.za/publications/saoj en_ZA
dc.identifier.citation Jacobs, H.W., Zondagh, I. & Wessels, P.F. 2017, 'Thromboprophylaxis in spinal surgery : a survey of current practice in South Africa', SA Orthopaedic Journal, vol. 16, no. 1, pp. 54-58. en_ZA
dc.identifier.issn 1681-150X (print)
dc.identifier.issn 2309-8309 (online)
dc.identifier.other 10.17159/2309-8309/2017/v16n1a8
dc.identifier.uri http://hdl.handle.net/2263/66147
dc.language.iso en en_ZA
dc.publisher South African Orthopaedic Association en_ZA
dc.rights © 2017 Jacobs et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licence. en_ZA
dc.subject Thromboprophylaxis en_ZA
dc.subject Venous thromboembolism (VTE) en_ZA
dc.subject Spinal surgery en_ZA
dc.subject Current practice en_ZA
dc.subject Low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH) en_ZA
dc.title Thromboprophylaxis in spinal surgery : a survey of current practice in South Africa en_ZA
dc.type Article en_ZA


Files in this item

This item appears in the following Collection(s)

Show simple item record