Thromboembolic complications in surgical patients and its prophylaxis

Introduction - Thromboembolic complications become more frequent in elderly, because they present risk factors more frequently, such as immobility, surgeries, chronic venous insufficiency, congestive heart failure, cancer and other diseases. The venous thromboembolism (VTE), the cause of preventable hospital death more common in post-operative, includes two main complications: deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary thromboembolism (PTE). The factors linked to the etiology and pathogenesis of thrombus up the Triad of Rudolf Virchow which includes vascular endothelial injury, hypercoagulability and venous stasis. This article aims to review, demonstrating the importance of understanding the thromboembolic complications in surgical patients in order to avoid them. Methods - Information on the subject at Medline/PubMed, which showed that thromboprofylaxis is the most effective strategy to reduce morbidity and mortality in surgical patients by VTE. The incidence of proximal DVT without prophylaxis is around 25% to 32% and, with prophylaxis of 10% to 18%. Conclusion - Knowing risks of DVT may increase the focus on the problems of PTE in hospitalized patients and form the basis of strategies for prophylaxis.