BACKGROUND: Deep venous thrombosis (DVT) is a frequent and severe disease. Prophylaxis is the best means to reduce its incidence, lowering morbidity and mortality rates caused by its complications. In a cost-effectiveness ratio, it is better to maintain a prophylactic routine than to treat an established disease. OBJECTIVE: To verify whether DVT prophylaxis is being properly and routinely used at Hospital Escola Doutor José Carneiro (HEJC), in Maceió, Brazil. METHODS: A descriptive, cross-sectional study at HEJC was carried out for a 6-month period. The sample was composed of 298 patients within different specialties. Data were collected from medical records, and divided into clinical (68.5%) and surgical (31.5%). How DVT prophylaxis was performed was analyzed for each patient. Clinical, pharmacological and surgical factors were investigated for all patients. Based on these data, risk stratification was performed in accordance with the classification recommended by Sociedade Brasileira de Angiologia e Cirurgia Vascular. Statistical analysis was performed using software SPSS and the qui-square and bivariate correction tests, considering p value < 0.05. RESULTS: Of the 298 patients analyzed, 204 belonged to medical clinic, in which 28.9% were low risk, 60.3% average risk and 10.8% high risk for DVT; and 94 patients belonged to surgical clinic, in which 43.6% were low risk, 52.1% average risk and 4.3% high risk. Only 23% of patients in the clinical group and 2.1% in the surgical group were given adequate prophylaxis. CONCLUSION: Despite the efficiency of prophylaxis for DVT having been confirmed, it does not reach satisfactory levels in our country.
Prevention and control; venous thrombosis; evaluation
