The Use of Fondaparinux in Preventing Thromboembolism in High Risk Trauma Patients

Summary

Trauma patients are at high risk of developing deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE). The incidence of DVT varies greatly from 5-63% among studies depending on patient's individual risk factors, modality of prophylaxis, and methods of detection. The incidence of PE may be as low (0.3-4.3%) but carries a mortality of 20-50% which makes prevention of DVT of the utmost importance. The current standard of care for DVT prophylaxis in the trauma patient with high risk of DVT is enoxaparin, a low molecular weight heparin, administered twice a day as long as anticoagulation in not contraindicated. Many studies have demonstrated its efficacy when compared to mechanical compression and to unfractionated heparin, however one of the most robust of these studies still reported an DVT incidence of 35% in patients treated with enoxaparin. Another drug, fondaparinux, is a selective factor Xa inhibitor that could offer added benefits over enoxaparin such as once daily dosing and a drastically reduced risk of heparin induced thrombocytopenia (HIT). Fondaparinux has been already be widely used in post-operative hip surgery and major knee surgery patients with good results. It has also been shown to be effective in DVT prophylaxis in patients who have had major abdominal surgery and also in acute medical patients. Fondaparinux has yet to be used in trauma patients. Trauma patients are a diverse and distinct population given the acuity of their injuries and their increased risk of bleeding who at this time still do not have a perfect method for DVT prophylaxis. We hypothesize that fondaparinux will be effective in decreasing the risk of DVT when used in the trauma patient population. This is a non randomized prospective cohort study designed to test the efficacy of fondaparinux in the prophylaxis of DVT and PE in trauma patients.

Timeline

Start

2007-12

Primary completion

2008-06

Completion

2008-06

Publications

• Background Agnelli G, Bergqvist D, Cohen AT, Gallus AS, Gent M; PEGASUS investigators. Randomized clinical trial of postoperative fondaparinux versus perioperative dalteparin for prevention of venous thromboembolism in high-risk abdominal surgery. Br J Surg. 2005 Oct;92(10):1212-20. doi: 10.1002/bjs.5154.
• Background Geerts WH, Jay RM, Code KI, Chen E, Szalai JP, Saibil EA, Hamilton PA. A comparison of low-dose heparin with low-molecular-weight heparin as prophylaxis against venous thromboembolism after major trauma. N Engl J Med. 1996 Sep 5;335(10):701-7. doi: 10.1056/NEJM199609053351003.
• Background Velmahos GC. Posttraumatic thromboprophylaxis revisited: an argument against the current methods of DVT and PE prophylaxis after injury. World J Surg. 2006 Apr;30(4):483-7. doi: 10.1007/s00268-005-0427-9.
• Background Hill AB, Garber B, Dervin G, Howard A. Heparin prophylaxis for deep venous thrombosis in a patient with multiple injuries: an evidence-based approach to a clinical problem. Can J Surg. 2002 Aug;45(4):282-7.
• Background Geerts WH, Pineo GF, Heit JA, Bergqvist D, Lassen MR, Colwell CW, Ray JG. Prevention of venous thromboembolism: the Seventh ACCP Conference on Antithrombotic and Thrombolytic Therapy. Chest. 2004 Sep;126(3 Suppl):338S-400S. doi: 10.1378/chest.126.3_suppl.338S.
• Background Turpie AG, Bauer KA, Eriksson BI, Lassen MR; PENTATHALON 2000 Study Steering Committee. Postoperative fondaparinux versus postoperative enoxaparin for prevention of venous thromboembolism after elective hip-replacement surgery: a randomised double-blind trial. Lancet. 2002 May 18;359(9319):1721-6. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(02)08648-8.
• Background Kudsk KA, Fabian TC, Baum S, Gold RE, Mangiante E, Voeller G. Silent deep vein thrombosis in immobilized multiple trauma patients. Am J Surg. 1989 Dec;158(6):515-9. doi: 10.1016/0002-9610(89)90182-7.
• Background Knudson MM, Ikossi DG. Venous thromboembolism after trauma. Curr Opin Crit Care. 2004 Dec;10(6):539-48. doi: 10.1097/01.ccx.0000144941.09650.9f.
• Background Donat F, Duret JP, Santoni A, Cariou R, Necciari J, Magnani H, de Greef R. The pharmacokinetics of fondaparinux sodium in healthy volunteers. Clin Pharmacokinet. 2002;41 Suppl 2:1-9. doi: 10.2165/00003088-200241002-00001.
• Background Knudson MM, Ikossi DG, Khaw L, Morabito D, Speetzen LS. Thromboembolism after trauma: an analysis of 1602 episodes from the American College of Surgeons National Trauma Data Bank. Ann Surg. 2004 Sep;240(3):490-6; discussion 496-8. doi: 10.1097/01.sla.0000137138.40116.6c.
• Background Eriksson BI, Bauer KA, Lassen MR, Turpie AG; Steering Committee of the Pentasaccharide in Hip-Fracture Surgery Study. Fondaparinux compared with enoxaparin for the prevention of venous thromboembolism after hip-fracture surgery. N Engl J Med. 2001 Nov 1;345(18):1298-304. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa011100.
• Background Bauer KA, Eriksson BI, Lassen MR, Turpie AG; Steering Committee of the Pentasaccharide in Major Knee Surgery Study. Fondaparinux compared with enoxaparin for the prevention of venous thromboembolism after elective major knee surgery. N Engl J Med. 2001 Nov 1;345(18):1305-10. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa011099.
• Background Geerts WH, Code KI, Jay RM, Chen E, Szalai JP. A prospective study of venous thromboembolism after major trauma. N Engl J Med. 1994 Dec 15;331(24):1601-6. doi: 10.1056/NEJM199412153312401.
• Background Allen TL, Carter JL, Morris BJ, Harker CP, Stevens MH. Retrievable vena cava filters in trauma patients for high-risk prophylaxis and prevention of pulmonary embolism. Am J Surg. 2005 Jun;189(6):656-61. doi: 10.1016/j.amjsurg.2005.03.003.
• Background Cohen AT, Davidson BL, Gallus AS, Lassen MR, Prins MH, Tomkowski W, Turpie AG, Egberts JF, Lensing AW; ARTEMIS Investigators. Efficacy and safety of fondaparinux for the prevention of venous thromboembolism in older acute medical patients: randomised placebo controlled trial. BMJ. 2006 Feb 11;332(7537):325-9. doi: 10.1136/bmj.38733.466748.7C. Epub 2006 Jan 26.
• Results Lu JP, Knudson MM, Bir N, Kallet R, Atkinson K. Fondaparinux for prevention of venous thromboembolism in high-risk trauma patients: a pilot study. J Am Coll Surg. 2009 Nov;209(5):589-94. doi: 10.1016/j.jamcollsurg.2009.08.001. Epub 2009 Sep 11.

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