Pulmonary embolism risk more than 6 weeks after surgery

Editor's Note

In this French study, the risk of postoperative pulmonary embolism was elevated beyond 6 weeks regardless of the type of procedure.

This analysis of 60,703 patients who had one of six types of surgery (ie, vascular, GYN, GI, hip or knee replacement, fractures, and other orthopedic procedures) found that the postoperative risk of pulmonary embolism extended beyond 6 weeks, and the risk remained significantly elevated between 7 and 12 weeks after surgery. The risk was not clinically significant beyond 18 weeks after surgery for any of the procedures.

The persistence of this excess risk for pulmonary embolism suggests that further randomized clinical trials are needed to evaluate whether the duration of postoperative prophylactic anticoagulation should be extended, the researchers say.