Hospitalized patients are often warned of the possibility of venous thromboembolism, which include blood clots that can form in the veins and travel to the lungs. However, these warnings have not necessarily been extended to the outpatient surgery population.
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Researchers evaluated more than 200,000 outpatient surgeries at centers across the country included in the American College of Surgeons’ National Surgical Quality Improvement Program Participant Use File. They found outpatients have a 20-fold variation in blood clot risk, from 0.04 percent to 1.12 percent. Several factors increase this risk, including arthroscopic surgery, surgery length and age.
With more than 60 percent of procedures now being done in the outpatient setting, the study revealed a need for better patient screening of the large and growing group of patients having outpatient surgery, the researchers said.
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