Enoxaparin sodium for pharmacological prevention of postoperative venous thromboembolic complications in urological patients

Introduction. Currently, there are paucity of reports on the success of medical prevention of venous thromboembolic complications after urological procedures.

Aim. To evaluate the efficiency of enoxaparin sodium for prevention of postoperative venous thromboembolic complications in urological patients.

Materials and methods. According to the medical records of 151 men and women aged 22 to 92 years old who were undergone to elective surgical treatment in April 2021, the results of the thrombin generation assay and ultrasound study of the inferior vena cava were retrospectively analyzed. All patients were divided into 6 study groups depending on the degree of risk of postoperative venous thromboembolism (very low, low, moderate, high, very high and extremely high). The data obtained during the thrombin generation assay in patients from different groups were compared with those in healthy volunteers (n=30, control group) and evaluated in dynamics. In addition, intergroup comparison was done.

Results. All study participants prior to surgery had a significant increase in peak thrombin and endogenous thrombin potential (ETP) by 5-26% and 13.5-21.5%, respectively. The postoperative findings were as following: 1) one hour after the procedure, a significant (by 9-28.6%) decrease in the normal bleeding time (Lag time); 2) a significant increase in the peak thrombin by 4.8-10.6% 1 hour after surgery and by 11-40.2% at the end of the first postoperative week; 3) reducing the time to peak thrombin (ttPeak) by 13-15%; 4) increase in ETP. According to the ultrasonic data, all study participants had no signs of thrombosis of the inferior vena cava system.

Conclusion: In urological patients requiring surgical treatment, before and after procedure, there is almost always a shift in the hemostasis towards the predominance of the blood coagulation system. Under such conditions, to prevent the development of postoperative VTE, it is expedient and pathogenetically justified to use enoxaparin sodium in a single dose of 0.4 ml or 4000 anti-Xa IU administered once a day s/c 24 hours before the procedure and till full activation of a patient.