The venous thromboembolism prophylaxis in patients receiving thoracic surgery: A systematic review

Objectives Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a significant and preventable cause of mortality and morbidity in thoracic surgery. It usually deep venous thromboembolism (DVT) and pulmonary thromboembolism (PE). We conducted this article to perform a systematic review on prophylaxis of perioperative VTE in patients undergoing thoracic surgery especially lung surgery and esophageal surgery and to identify potential areas for future research. Methods The systematic review we conducted included studies of patients undergoing thoracic surgery especially lung surgery and esophageal surgery Results The study identified 2621 references. Finally, 22 trials with a total of 9072 patients were included. Only six studies declared that they continued a follow‐up after the discharge of the patients. (range: 1‐3 months); three studies reported on major bleeding events as an outcome measure, and the incidence varied from 0.8% to 1.6%. Total 346 VTEs occurred, and the overall mean risk of VTE was estimated at 3.8% (range: 0.77‐27%). Conclusions The evidence for using thromboprophylaxis in thoracic surgery is limited and controversial, predominantly based on clinical consensus. Future research is needed to focus on identifying risk of VTE and providing sufficient evidence with high quality to support clinical strategies concerning the prophylaxis for VTE.