PMID- 20166070 OWN - NLM STAT- MEDLINE DCOM- 20100419 LR - 20200511 IS - 1469-493X (Electronic) IS - 1361-6137 (Linking) IP - 2 DP - 2010 Feb 17 TI - WITHDRAWN: Heparin for the prevention of venous thromboembolism in general medical patients (excluding stroke and myocardial infarction). PG - CD003747 LID - 10.1002/14651858.CD003747.pub3 [doi] AB - BACKGROUND: Venous thromboembolic disease has been extensively studied in surgical patients. The benefit of thromboprophylaxis is now generally accepted, but it is medical patients who make up the greater proportion of the hospital population. Medical patients differ from surgical patients with regard to their health and the pathogenesis of thromboembolism and the impact that preventative measures can have. The extensive experience from thromboprophylaxis studies in surgical patients is therefore not necessarily applicable to non-surgical patients. OBJECTIVES: To determine the effectiveness and safety of heparin thromboprophylaxis in general medical patients. SEARCH STRATEGY: The Cochrane Peripheral Vascular Diseases Group searched their Specialised Register (last searched 24 April 2009) and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials in The Cochrane Library (last searched Issue 2, 2009)We handsearched meeting abstracts, and consulted with colleagues and investigators as well as the manufacturers of the various LMWH preparations to identify unpublished or missed studies. SELECTION CRITERIA: Randomised controlled trials comparing unfractionated heparin (UFH) or low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) with placebo or no treatment, or comparing UFH with LMWH. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: One author identified possible trials, and the other author confirmed eligibility for inclusion in the review. Both authors extracted the data. Disagreements were resolved by discussion. We performed the meta-analysis as a fixed-effect model with relative risks. MAIN RESULTS: A significant risk reduction in deep vein thrombosis (DVT) by 60% (relative risk (RR) 0.40; 95% confidence interval CI 0.31 to 0.53; P < 0.00001) and pulmonary embolism (PE) by 42% (RR 0.58; 95% CI 0.43 to 0.80; P = 0.0007) was observed with heparin compared with placebo or no treatment. However, heparin resulted in a significant increase in major haemorrhage (RR 2.18; 95% CI 1.28 to 3.72; P = 0.004) and minor haemorrhage (RR 1.74; 95% CI 1.26 to 2.41; P = 0.0008). There was no statistically significant difference in efficacy between LMWH and UFH. There was a statistically significant 72% risk reduction in major bleeding when LMWH was compared with UFH (RR 0.28; 95% CI 0.10 to 0.78; P = 0.02). AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: The data from this review support the use of heparin thromboprophylaixs in medical patients presenting with an acute medical illness. Although the analysis found no significant difference in efficacy between LMWH and UFH, it did note differences in the incidence of DVT and clinical PE with a significantly reduced risk of bleeding in favour of LMWH. FAU - Alikhan, Raza AU - Alikhan R AD - Arthur Bloom Haemophilia Centre and Haemostasis Laboratory, University Hospital of Wales, Heath Park, Cardiff, UK, CF14 4XW. FAU - Cohen, Alexander T AU - Cohen AT LA - eng PT - Journal Article PT - Review PT - Systematic Review DEP - 20100217 PL - England TA - Cochrane Database Syst Rev JT - The Cochrane database of systematic reviews JID - 100909747 RN - 0 (Anticoagulants) RN - 0 (Heparin, Low-Molecular-Weight) RN - 9005-49-6 (Heparin) SB - IM UOF - Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2009;(3):CD003747. PMID: 19588346 UIN - Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2014;5:CD003747. PMID: 24804622 MH - Acute Disease MH - Anticoagulants/*therapeutic use MH - Heparin/*therapeutic use MH - Heparin, Low-Molecular-Weight/therapeutic use MH - Humans MH - Pulmonary Embolism/*prevention & control MH - Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic MH - Venous Thromboembolism/*prevention & control MH - Venous Thrombosis/prevention & control RF - 45 EDAT- 2010/02/19 06:00 MHDA- 2010/04/20 06:00 CRDT- 2010/02/19 06:00 PHST- 2010/02/19 06:00 [entrez] PHST- 2010/02/19 06:00 [pubmed] PHST- 2010/04/20 06:00 [medline] AID - 10.1002/14651858.CD003747.pub3 [doi] PST - epublish SO - Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2010 Feb 17;(2):CD003747. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD003747.pub3.