title: The monitoring of heparin induced thrombocytopenia following surgery: an audit and international survey.
abstract: Heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT) is a serious postoperative complication of low-molecular-weight heparin (LWMH) prescribed following surgery and recent evidence based guidelines recommend routine platelet count monitoring for all at-risk patients. With the implementation of these guidelines this clinical study demonstrated a significant improvement (2-56% p < 0.05) in HIT diagnosis in postoperative patients receiving LMWH. An international survey showed a lack of awareness of heparin-induced thrombocytopenia and its management.
authors.affiliation: Trauma and Orthopaedics, East Surrey Hospital, Redhill. benedictrogers@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Benedict A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Rogers
authors.forename: Andrew S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Cowie
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D016903:Drug Monitoring; D005260:Female; D005343:Fibrinolytic Agents / Q000009:adverse effects*; D019983:Guideline Adherence; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006495:Heparin, Low-Molecular-Weight / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008485:Medical Audit; D008875:Middle Aged; D009985:Orthopedics / Q000193:education; D011182:Postoperative Care; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D013921:Thrombocytopenia / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006113:United Kingdom
chemical_list: D005343:Fibrinolytic Agents; D006495:Heparin, Low-Molecular-Weight