Comparison of the prevalence of venous thromboembolism in patients treated with enoxaparin and heparin: A cross-sectional study in the intensive care unit of Imam Khomeini Hospital in Ahvaz

Deep vein thrombosis, especially in the lower extremities, is one of the complications of immobility. Major surgeries, especially orthopedic surgeries and inpatient care in the intensive care unit, predispose the patients to such complications. The aim of this study was to compare the prevalence rats of venous thromboembolism between the patients treated with enoxaparin and subcutaneous heparin in the intensive care unit.

This was a retrospective cross-sectional study. Sampling method was census. All the patients who had been admitted to the intensive care units of Imam Khomeini Hospital in Ahvaz from the beginning of September 2017 to the end of December 2017, were entered into this study. Data were extracted from the patients' medical records and recorded in a checklist for every patient. Using SPSS20 software, data were analyzed by descriptive and analytical statistics.

Out of 600 patients, 64 (10.66%) patients had venous thromboembolism, of which 35 patients (54.7%) were in the heparin group and 29 patients (45.3%) in the enoxaparin group (P >0.05). 18 patients had deep venous thrombosis (3%), among them 13 (72.22%) patients were in the heparin group and 5 (27.78%) patients in the enoxaparin group (P <0.05).

In this study, enoxaparin administration was more effective than heparin in the prevention of deep vein thrombosis but the effects of these two drugs were the same in the prevention of pulmonary thromboembolism. More concrete conclusions require further studies with control of underlying and confounding factors.