Abstract:
Background:
Venous thromboembolism (VTE)-comprising deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary
embolism (PE)-is a leading cause of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. It significantly
affects patient outcomes by increasing discomfort, hospital stay duration, and healthcare costs.
Both medical and surgical inpatients are at elevated risk of VTE. Clinical trials have
demonstrated that appropriate VTE prophylaxis reduces symptomatic DVT, PE, and associated
mortality.
Objectives: Aim of the study was to determine burdens of VTE high risk and utilization of
thromboprophylaxis among medical and surgical inpatients at Jimma University Medical Center
(JUMC).
Methods: An institution based cross-sectional study was conducted among 371 (medical 126,
surgical 245) inpatients from December 1, 2024 to February 30, 2025 G.C. Participants were
selected using a consecutive sampling method from medical, surgical, orthopedics and
gynecology ward . Data was collected from medical record and by interviewing participant using
structured questionnaires drafted from different literatures review. The collected data was
entered to Epidata version 3.1, then exported to SPSS version 25 for Analysis. Descriptive
statistics was used to describe categorical variables as frequency and percentages while
continuous data was described using mean, median and standard deviation. Multivariate logistic
regression identified factors associated with appropriate thromboprophylaxis and statistical
significance declared at p value of <0.05.
Results: Among 371 participants (53.4% male), the mean age was 38 years (±15.86). Of surgical
inpatients, 82% were at high or highest risk of VTE, but only 15.1% received prophylaxis.
Among medical inpatients, 68% were at high risk according to the Padua Prediction Score, yet
only 19.8% received appropriate prophylaxis. Factors significantly associated with appropriate
prophylaxis were age ≥75 years (AOR: 3.92; 95% CI: 2.11–8.03) ; high VTE risk score (AOR:
5.01; 95% CI: 1.003–18.07).and respiratory diseases (OR = 4.283; 95% CI: 3.900–20.367 P
value =0.002).
Conclusion and recommendation:
This study highlights a significant gap in the implementation of VTE prophylaxis, especially
among high-risk surgical and medical inpatients. Adopting VTE risk assessment and
thromboprophylaxis protocol and staff training is crucial to prevent this potentially fatal yet
preventable condition.
