Patients hospitalized with fractures typically receive an injectable blood thinner, low-molecular-weight heparin, to prevent life-threatening blood clots. A new clinical trial, however, found that inexpensive over-the-counter aspirin is just as effective. The findings, published today in the, may lead surgeons to change their practice and administer aspirin to these patients.
The study enrolled 12,211 patients with leg or arm fractures that necessitated surgery or pelvic fractures regardless of the treatment. Half were randomly assigned to receive 30 mg. of injectable low molecular-weight heparin twice daily. The other half received 81 mg. of aspirin twice daily.
"This relatively small difference was driven by clots lower in the leg, which are thought to be of less clinical significance and often do not require treatment," said study co-principal investigator Deborah Stein, MD, MPH, Professor of Surgery at UMSOM and Director of Adult Critical Care Services at UMMC.
"This large multicenter study was needed to adequately measure the impact of prophylaxis on the infrequent, but important, outcome of death that is of utmost importance to patients," said study methods center principal investigator Renan Castillo, Ph.D., Professor of Health Policy and Management at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.