Anticoagulants not necessary for many surgical patients

Editor's Note

Three out of four surgery patients may be receiving anticoagulants they don’t need, the January 23 EurekAlert reports. 

Researchers reviewed 14,776 records from 13 studies to determine which surgical patients would and would not benefit from anticoagulants.

High-risk patients who were given anticoagulants had a significantly decreased risk of developing clots. However, the same benefit did not carry over to the rest of the patients who comprised 75% of the study populations. Analysis showed that anticoagulants did not make a significant difference in clotting rates of mid- or low-risk patients.

The study results challenge guidelines specifying that all general surgery patients receive anticoagulants.

As many as three out of four surgery patients could be receiving anti-clotting medications that they do not need, according to a study led by investigators at the University of Utah School of Medicine. The research, to be published in Annals of Surgery, challenges standard of care guidelines specifying that all general surgery patients receive anticoagulants.