Thursday February 1, 2007
How Frequent Is Venous Thromboembolism (VTE) with HIT in Heparin-Treated Patients

Interesting meta-analysis of 10 studies done from Texas looking into frequency of DVT / VTE in heparin treated patients (include IV and SQ unfractionated heparin as well as SQ low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH) - due to Heparin-Induced Thrombocytopenia (HIT).

They found that VTE is associated with HIT less than 1% in LMWH-treated patients, but one in eight cases in unfractionated heparin treated patients.


Clinical significance:

1. LMWH like Lovenox may be a better choice for DVT prophylaxis and other treatments than unfractionated heparin due to high incidence of HIT with it.

2. Physicians should suspect the possibility of HIT if DVT / VTE develops during or soon after unfractionated heparin use.


Reference:
How Frequently Is Venous Thromboembolism in Heparin-Treated Patients Associated With Heparin-Induced Thrombocytopenia? Chest. 2006;130:681-687