Chemoprophylaxis in addition to mechanical prophylaxis after total knee arthroplasty surgery does not reduce the incidence of venous thromboembolism.
Jing Loong Moses LohStephrene ChanKeng Lin WongSanjay de MelEng Soo YapPublished in: Thrombosis journal (2019)
In one of the largest Asian studies specifically investigating the incidence of DVT after TKA, we found that the incidence is low at 4.5%. This is in contrast to recent studies that showed higher post-operative VTE rates similar to Western populations. In addition, patients who were administered chemoprophylaxis did not have a statistically significant difference in incidence of VTE although it did show a correlation with higher post-operative outcome scores which may indicate better function. This was seen in functional outcome scores such as post op 6 months SF36 (PCS), post op 12 months SF36 (PCS), post op 12 months SF36 (MCS), post op 24 months SF36 (MCS) and post op 24 months WOMAC.