Background: Venous thromboembolism is a serious complication after total hip and knee arthroplasty. There is still no consensus regarding the best mode of thromboprophylaxis after lower limb arthroplasty. The aim of this study was to ascertain the efficacy, safety profile, and rate of adverse thromboembolic events of aspirin as extended out-of-hospital pharmacological anticoagulation for elective primary total hip and knee arthroplasty patients and whether these rates were comparable with published data for low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH).
Methods: Data were extracted from a prospective hospital-acquired thromboembolism database. The period of study was from January 1, 2013 to December 31, 2016, and a total of 6078 patients were treated with aspirin as extended thromboprophylaxis after primary total hip and knee arthroplasty.
Results: The primary outcome measure of deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism within 90 days postoperatively was 1.11%. The secondary outcome rates of wound infection, bleeding complications, readmission rate, and mortality were comparable to published results after LMWH use.
Conclusion: The results of this study clearly show that aspirin, as part of a multimodal thromboprophylactic regime, is an effective and safe regime in preventing venous thromboembolism with respect to risk of deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism when compared to LMWH. It is a cheaper alternative to LMWH and has associated potential cost savings.
Keywords: aspirin; deep vein thrombosis; hospital-acquired venous thromboembolism; lower limb arthroplasty; multimodal thromboprophylaxis; pulmonary embolism.
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