Bulletin of the Hospital for Joint Disease (2013)
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Bull Hosp Jt Dis (2013) · Dec 2015
Randomized Controlled TrialPrevention of Venous Thromboembolism after Arthroscopic Knee Surgery in a Low-Risk Population with the Use of Aspirin. A Randomized Trial.
Historically, venous thromboembolism (VTE) in the setting of elective knee arthroscopy has been considered rare. However, more recently, the rate of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) has been reported to be approximately 10%. With increasing recognition of the potential for the development of thromboembolic events, several randomized trials have evaluated the efficacy of chemoprophylaxis in reducing the risk of VTE following knee arthroscopy. However, all of these studies have evaluated the efficacy of low molecular weight heparins (LMWH), with reductions in the risk of DVT ranging from 65% to 93%, but with the potential side effect of bleeding. At the present time, there have been no randomized studies reported evaluating the utility of aspirin, an agent with a reportedly lower bleeding risk than LMWH, as pharmacologic prophylaxis against VTE after arthroscopic knee surgery. ⋯ With no cases of VTE identified in our patient population, the use of aspirin in a low-risk population undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery is not warranted.