The Anticoagulants’ Effectiveness and Safety in Long Term Care Patient

Randomized control trials have demonstrated a satisfactory risk-benefit ratio for Anticoagulation of hospitalized patients by decreasing asymptomatic as well as symptomatic venous thromboembolism (VTE) and even life threatening pulmonary embolism, while the risk of bleeding and other complications from anticoagulants use was low. On the other hand, no trials of primary prophylaxis have been completed in long-term care patients, and the majority of data are indirect, collected essentially from investigations of intensely ill patients admitted to hospitals. Drugs and devices for thromboprophylaxis have been reviewed in hospitalized medical and surgical patients, till now their safety and efficacy have not yet been proven in long-term care patients. In this dissertation a systematic review was conducted for this topic. Randomized controlled trials and controlled trials that have been conducted in the last 25 years were searched online to examine the limited evidence for the safety and effectiveness of anticoagulants in primary prophylaxis of Venous thromboembolism in long-term care patients.