Journal of Spine

Thromboprophylaxis in Spinal Surgery – Current UK Practice

Abstract

Francis Brooks, Steven Lau, Ed Baddour, Prabhakar Rao, Shashav Bhagat and Sashin Ahuja

Abstract Purpose: Venous thrombotic events remain a common problem following both spinal cord injury and elective spinal surgery. Recent guidance has been issued by the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) on the use of prophylaxis for these patients. This study was designed to show how spinal units in the United Kingdom (UK) are managing this risk for their patients. Method: We conducted a telephonic survey of 30 spinal units which were identified from a NHS website. We asked about their current method of thromboprophylaxis in spinal patients and asked if they had changed their practice based on the recommendations by NICE Results: 13.3% of the centres had changed their practice based on these updated clinical guidelines. 93% centres used mechanoprophylaxis only in the elective setting and 10% of centres reported increased wound complications with their new practice. Conclusion: Our results show that the majority of spinal centres are compliant with the recommendations of NICE. However, there remains a lack of good quality clinical evidence for thromboprophylaxis and more research should be conducted in this area.