We studied the safety and efficacy of multimodal thromboprophylaxis in patients with a history of venous thromboembolism (VTE) who undergo total hip arthroplasty (THA) within the first 120 postoperative days, and the mortality during the first year. Multimodal prophylaxis includes discontinuation of procoagulant medications, VTE risk stratification, regional anaesthesia, an intravenous bolus of unfractionated heparin prior to femoral preparation, rapid mobilization, the use of pneumatic compression devices, and chemoprophylaxis tailored to the patient’s risk of VTE. Between 2004 to 2018, 257 patients with a proven history of VTE underwent 277 primary elective THA procedures by two surgeons at a single institution. The patients had a history of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) (186, 67%), pulmonary embolism (PE) (43, 15.5%), or both (48, 17.5%). Chemoprophylaxis included aspirin (38 patients), anticoagulation (215 patients), or a combination of aspirin and anticoagulation (24 patients). A total of 50 patients (18%) had a vena cava filter in situ at the time of surgery. Patients were followed for 120 days to record complications, and for one year to record mortality.Aims
Methods
Many different designs of total hip arthroplasty
(THA) with varying performance and cost are available. The identification
of those which are the most cost-effective could allow significant
cost-savings. We used an established Markov model to examine the
cost effectiveness of five frequently used categories of THA which differed
according to bearing surface and mode of fixation, using data from
the National Joint Registry for England and Wales. Kaplan–Meier
analyses of rates of revision for men and women were modelled with
parametric distributions. Costs of devices were provided by the
NHS Supply Chain and associated costs were taken from existing studies.
Lifetime costs, lifetime quality-adjusted-life-years (QALYs) and
the probability of a device being cost effective at a willingness
to pay £20 000/QALY were included in the models. The differences in QALYs between different categories of implant
were extremely small (<
0.0039 QALYs for men or women over the
patient’s lifetime) and differences in cost were also marginal (£2500
to £3000 in the same time period). As a result, the probability
of any particular device being the most cost effective was very
sensitive to small, plausible changes in quality of life estimates
and cost. Our results suggest that available evidence does not support
recommending a particular device on cost effectiveness grounds alone.
We would recommend that the choice of prosthesis should be determined
by the rate of revision, local costs and the preferences of the
surgeon and patient. Cite this article:
Thromboprophylaxis after elective orthopaedic surgery remains controversial. Recent guidelines from the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) have suggested that low molecular weight heparin should be given to all patients undergoing total hip replacement. The British Orthopaedic Association is currently debating this guideline with NICE, as it is not clear whether published evidence supports this view. We present the early mortality in our unit after total hip replacement using aspirin as chemical thromboprophylaxis. The 30-day and 90-day mortality after primary total hip arthroplasty was zero. We compare this with that reported previously from our unit without using chemical thromboprophylaxis. With the introduction of routine aspirin thromboprophylaxis, deaths from cardiovascular causes have dropped from 0.75% to zero. These results demonstrate that there is a strong argument for the routine administration of aspirin after elective total hip replacement.
