Prevention of venous thromboembolism

Venous thromboembolism is a common and potentially lethal disease with severe long-term complications. Prevention of venous thromboembolism is key to improving survival and reducing complications. Venous thromboembolism is predominantly a disease of older age. In addition to increasing age, male gender, Caucasian or African-American ancestry, hospitalization, surgery, trauma, malignant neoplasm, neurologic disease with extremity paresis, prior superficial vein thrombosis, and hormone therapy further identify a population at increased risk for venous thromboembolism. All such patients should receive appropriate prophylaxis as outlined in this article.