Stroke patients are at an increased risk for developing blood clots known as venous thromboembolis (VTE). Without VTE prophylaxis, up to 75% of patients with hemiplegia following stroke develop deep-vein thrombosis and 20% develop pulmonary embolism.
The study showed a significant 43% reduction in VTE events with enoxaparin compared with unfractionated heparin in patients who suffered an acute ischemic stroke.
There was no significant difference in clinically important bleedings, corresponding to the combination of symptomatic intracranial bleeding, the most serious complication, and major extracranial bleeding. The reduction in VTE risk was also observed in patients presenting with different levels of stroke severity, with no significant difference in clinically important bleedings.
“Balancing the benefits of lowering the risk of VTE while minimizing the risk of bleeding is a very important element in choosing prophylactic regimens for this particularly fragile patient population, as it combines the usual factors of VTE in addition to the stroke context,” said Dr David Sherman, professor in the Division of Neurology, Department of Medicine, University of Texas Health Science Center.
“These data provide new evidence that suggests enoxaparin can be used as VTE prophylaxis in this high risk population.”