The venographic prevalence of deep vein thrombosis in people with distal lower-extremity injuries that require surgery or casting ranges from 10% to 40%. But a prospective cohort study in the May 21, 2014 JBJS found that only 0.6% of 1200 patients with lower-leg fractures and no medical or mechanical thromboprophylaxis had symptomatic, objectively confirmed venous thromboembolism (VTE) over a 12-week follow-up. Moreover, none of the seven thrombotic complications was fatal. This leads the authors to conclude that “the risk-benefit ratio and cost effectiveness of routine anticoagulant prophylaxis are unlikely to be favorable for these patients.” They go on to say that despite the large sample size in this study, the low prevalence of VTE made it impossible to pinpoint characteristics that could identify a subgroup of similar patients who might be at higher risk of clotting problems.
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