*** September 2008 - new Department of Health VTE risk assessment now available

Explore this microsite to find out more about how nurse-led teams have implemented VTE risk assessment and thromboprophylaxis ***

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a major public health problem. Each year, more people are affected by VTE than breast cancer, lung cancer and AIDS combined. Pulmonary embolism (PE) is the single, most common preventable cause of death in hospital patients and, in those patients who survive, long-term complications of deep-vein thrombosis (DVT) and PE cause substantial illness and suffering. It is estimated there are approximately 114,000 new cases of VTE each year in the United Kingdom, of which, 59,000 are cases of DVT and 55,000 are cases of PE. The consequences of PE are severe. In many cases, patients die suddenly and without warning, it is estimated that over 40,000 people die each year from PE.

VTE affects members of the community and a wide range of patients admitted to hospital. Although it can occur suddenly and without warning in any individual, certain groups have been identified who are at high risk of developing the condition. This includes people who are hospitalised, undergoing surgery and people suffering an acute episode of medical illness. Whilst preventative management in people undergoing surgery is now widely accepted and implemented, this is not the case in the medical patient. The recently published ACCP Guidelines (American College of Chest Physicians) 7th Edition recommends (Grade 1A) that medical patients be assessed for their risk of VTE and administered appropriate thromboprophylaxis.

The Developing Practice for Thrombosis Prevention Programme (DPTPP) aimed to support the development of healthcare practice to optimise in-hospital patient care through the introduction of effective VTE risk assessment strategies and administration of appropriate thromboprophylaxis in line with national and international guidelines. Working in collaboration with Sanofi Aventis, FoNS offered a programme of support to six project teams (originally there were seven but one project team had to withdraw for reasons not associated with the programme). The DPTPP started in Autumn 2005 and the projects submitted final reports in Autumn 2006.

We hope that this microsite will serve a variety of purposes:

•  Enable the sharing of good practice by providing reports about the projects supported by FoNS

•  Help nurses and others involved in similar projects to share their work on this microsite – if you have some information to share, please contact us!

•  Provide information and links to other useful resources (use the links on the left to navigate)

A summary report of the DPTPP was published in January 2007.

Download the Dissemination Series Short Report (PDF 568KB)