American Association for the Surgery of Trauma/American College of Surgeons Committee on trauma clinical protocol for post-discharge venous thromboembolism prophylaxis after trauma

Abstract Trauma patients are at an elevated risk for developing venous thromboembolism (VTE), which includes pulmonary embolism and deep vein thrombosis. In the inpatient setting, prompt pharmacologic prophylaxis is utilized to prevent VTE. For patients with lower extremity fractures or limited mobility, VTE risk does not return to baseline levels post-discharge. Currently, there are limited data to guide post-discharge VTE prophylaxis in trauma patients. The goal of these post-discharge VTE prophylaxis guidelines are to identify patients at the highest risk of developing VTE after discharge and to offer pharmacologic prophylaxis strategies to limit this risk.