International journal of gynecological cancer : official journal of the International Gynecological Cancer Society
-
Int. J. Gynecol. Cancer · Jan 2015
Comparative StudyImproved compliance with venous thromboembolism pharmacologic prophylaxis for patients with gynecologic malignancies hospitalized for nonsurgical indications did not reduce venous thromboembolism incidence.
National guidelines recommend prophylactic anticoagulation for all hospitalized patients with cancer to prevent hospital-acquired venous thromboembolism (VTE). However, adherence to these evidence-based recommended practice patterns remains low. We performed a quality improvement (QI) project to increase VTE pharmacologic prophylaxis rates among patients with gynecologic malignancies hospitalized for nonsurgical indications and evaluated the resulting effect on rates of development of VTE. ⋯ Our QI project improved pharmacologic VTE prophylaxis rates. A small decrease in prophylaxis during the subsequent 2 years suggests a need for continued surveillance to optimize QI initiatives. Despite increased adherence to guidelines, VTE rates did not decline in this high-risk population.