AB125. SOH23ABS_089. Adherence to VTE prophylaxis guidelines on a surgical ward in Midlands Regional Hospital Tullamore
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AB125. SOH23ABS_089. Adherence to VTE prophylaxis guidelines on a surgical ward in Midlands Regional Hospital Tullamore

Aimee Phelan1, Liadán Tobin-Schnittger1, Nicola Raftery2, Chi Ming Cheung2, Abubakr Rayis2, Tarig Abdelhafiz2, Sean Johnston2

1Faculty of Education and Health Sciences, University of Limerick, School of Medicine, Limerick, Ireland; 2Department of General Surgery, Midlands Regional Hospital Tullamore, Tullamore, Ireland

Background: Risk factors associated with venous thromboembolism (VTE) include immobilisation, recent surgery, malignancy, and infection. Surgical patients in particular often have several risk factors for VTE. As per National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines, all patients at risk of VTE over 16 years should start pharmacological prophylaxis within 14 h of admission. Antiembolism stockings (AES) are also recommended. The aim of this audit was to assess adherence to VTE prophylaxis guidelines on the surgical ward.

Methods: An audit of the surgical ward was performed over a 20-day period. The records and drug charts of 111 patients were reviewed. Variables recorded included patient demographics, reason for admission, prescribed anticoagulants, AES and adherence to same. The implementation phase included presentation of findings for surgical ward staff and a poster of the audit results was displayed. Plans to reaudit and close the loop are in place for early 2023.

Results: Overall compliance for Enoxaparin prescription was 62%. Of the cohort not prescribed enoxaparin; 13% were on alternative anticoagulants, 39% had a high bleeding risk. Of those not prescribed enoxaparin, 48% had no bleeding risk identified. In total, 48% of patients were prescribed AES and of these, 40% were in-situ. Weight was recorded on 29% of drug charts.

Conclusions: Quality improvement points identified during this audit include the need for documentation of patient’s weight on drug charts upon admission as well as application of AES when prescribed. When patients are not prescribed Enoxaparin, a clear reason should also be given. Through education and communication, VTE prophylaxis adherence can be improved.

Keywords: Adherence; antiembolism stockings; nice guidelines; prophylaxis; venous thromboembolism

Acknowledgments

Funding: None.

Footnote

Conflicts of Interest: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Ethical Statement: The authors are accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

Open Access Statement: This is an Open Access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), which permits the non-commercial replication and distribution of the article with the strict proviso that no changes or edits are made and the original work is properly cited (including links to both the formal publication through the relevant DOI and the license). See: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.

doi: 10.21037/map-23-ab125
Cite this abstract as: Phelan A, Tobin-Schnittger L, Raftery N, Cheung CM, Rayis A, Abdelhafiz T, Johnston S. AB125. SOH23ABS_089. Adherence to VTE prophylaxis guidelines on a surgical ward in Midlands Regional Hospital Tullamore. Mesentery Peritoneum 2023;7:AB125.

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