Introduction of a Venous Thromboembolism Prophylaxis Protocol for Older Adult Psychiatric Patients.

Hospital-Acquired venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a common cause of morbidity and mortality in older adults. In psychiatric patients these risks are increased due to multiple factors including poor mobility, restraint, catatonia, sedation, and conventional antipsychotic use. Diagnosis and treatment of psychiatric patients presenting with signs and symptoms of a VTE can be delayed due to a patient's communication difficulties, non-compliance, or attribution of symptoms to a psychosomatic cause. However, despite the increased risk, approved VTE prophylaxis protocols are infrequently used on Psychiatric wards. On one Older Adult Psychiatric Ward, two patients presented with VTE (a fatal pulmonary embolism and a symptomatic deep vein thrombosis) over a 6 month period demonstrating the necessity for prophylactic assessment. A baseline audit over 3 months showed that 63-83% of patients on the ward had received no assessment of VTE risk, on any given week, although this improved slightly following the critical incidents. A VTE prophylaxis protocol, based on NICE guidance for VTE risk assessment in Medical and Surgical patients, was developed with consideration given to additional Psychiatric risk factors. This took the form of a pro-forma with a tick-box design that included mobility assessment, VTE risk factors, bleeding risk factors, and guidance on prescribing decisions. This was implemented on an Older Adult Psychiatric ward and prophylaxis was provided to those meeting the threshold. Weekly audit of all pro-formas (including assessments completed within 48 hours of admission and prophylaxis prescription) was conducted after the pro-forma introduction from 1st February 2013 to 24th May 2013. Frequency of assessments increased after protocol implementation with between 36% and 85% of all patients being assessed for VTE risk post intervention. Fluctuations in numbers assessed may have related to ward pressures, staff changes, and practicalities of pro-forma use. After completion of the PDSA cycles the initiative was handed over to a specialist registrar for implementation across the other trust Older Adult Psychiatry wards, and further audit was planned to be conducted via junior doctors and established Quality Assurance systems. Discussion of integration of a condensed pro-forma into the trust electronic notes system is ongoing.