Efficacy and Safety of Enoxaparin for Prophylaxis of Postoperative Venous Thromboembolism After Esophagectomy: A Single-center Prospective Randomized Controlled Phase II Study

Abstract

Background/aim: This study aimed to assess whether low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH) is effective and safe in preventing postoperative venous thromboembolism (VTE) in patients undergoing esophageal cancer surgery.

Patients and methods: In this single-institution, prospective, randomized trial, 73 patients with esophageal cancer undergoing esophagectomy were randomly divided into the enoxaparin group (E group) and intermittent pneumatic compression group (I group). The primary endpoint was efficacy of enoxaparin, and secondary endpoints were evidence of bleeding and serum anti-Xa activity in the E group.

Results: The E group comprised 42 patients and the I group comprised 31 patients. Deep vein thrombosis was observed in 0 (0%) patients in the E group and 7 (22.6%) patients in the I group (p=0.002). Soluble fibrin monomer complex was significantly lower in the E versus I group on day 8 (p<0.001). D-dimer was significantly lower in the E versus I group on days 2, 8, and 15 (p=0.008, p<0.001, p<0.001, respectively).

Conclusion: VTE was significantly reduced by using enoxaparin.

Keywords: Perioperative prophylaxis; anti-Xa activity; enoxaparin; esophageal surgery; venous thromboembolism.