BACKGROUNDAs the third most frequent cardiovascular disease, venous thromboembolism (VTE) remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality in hospitalized patients. The aim of this study was to determine the incidence of VTE and steps for its prevention in acutely ill hospitalized elderly Chinese patients.

METHODSA prospective multi-center study was conducted from June 2006 to November 2007. A total of 607 patients from 40 research centers in China were enrolled. Data of the patients' baseline characteristics, VTE events and prophylaxis/therapy methods were collected.

RESULTSFifty-nine patients (9.7%) had an objectively confirmed VTE during the 90-day follow-up, of which, 59.3% occurred during the first week and 75% within 14 days. Forty-one patients died (6.6%) during the follow-up, 36.6% died within three weeks. We also found that medical disorders including respiratory failure (16.4%), acute brain infarction (15.6%), acute infectious diseases (14.3%), acute coronary artery syndrome (8.7%) and heart failure (7.6%) play a role in provoking VTE. Only 13.0% of the elderly patients with high risk of VTE used low dose unfractionated heparin, 7.1% used low molecular weight heparin, 5.4% used warfarin, 0.3% used graduated compression stockings and none of them used intermittent pneumatic compression.

CONCLUSIONSOur study showed similar results between our study and western countries in the VTE incidence by day 90 in elderly hospitalized patients with acute medical illness. Great caution must be applied in the care of acutely ill elderly hospitalized patients to deal with the complications of VTE. Application of safe and effective prophylaxes against embolism remains a critical challenge.