Venous thromboembolism prevention post neck of femur fractures - does it make a difference?

Neck of femur fractures predispose patients to venous thromboembolism (VTE). NICE has issued guideline 46 to reduce this risk through the use of antithrombic agents. We audited our department's VTE practise by reviewing the clinical notes of 123 consecutive patients with no exclusions. We found our compliance to be a low 6%. We also found that patients were likely to be given low molecular heparin (LMWH) only during their hospital stay. Reasons for the low adherence were probably secondary to confusion caused by the multiple thromboprophylaxis protocols used in our department. The correlation between duration of heparin administration and length of hospital stay was due to logistical difficulty in administering VTE prophylaxis out of hospital setting.