Retrospective analysis of the effectiveness and safety of sulodexide for venous thromboembolism prevention in neurosurgical patients.

Neurosurgery patients are at high risk of developing venous thromboembolism (VTE) which increases the risk of morbidity and mortality. This study is designed to investigate the effectiveness and safety of sulodexide in combination with routine VTE prophylaxis compared with routine VTE prophylaxis alone for VTE prevention in neurosurgical patients. This retrospective, cohort study included neurosurgical patients received routine VTE prophylaxis (control group) or routine VTE prophylaxis plus sulodexide (experimental group) during hospitalization. Predictors of VTE during hospitalization were determined using multivariable logistic regression. A total of 694 eligible patients were included in this study. The incidence of VTE in the experimental group (4.52%, 10/221) was lower compared with that in the control group (6.98%, 33/473) (P = 0.212). The change from baseline in serum creatinine and blood urea nitrogen of the experimental group was significantly higher compared with that in the control group (both P < 0.05). In elderly patients (>65 years), VTE incidence in the experimental group was 3.51% which was significantly lower than that in the control group (10.8%; P = 0.03) and odd ratio [OR] was 0.3 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.07, 0.92). Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that use of sulodexide plus routine VTE prophylaxis (OR = 0.172, 95% CI: 0.055, 0.535; P = 0.006) and baseline Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score (OR = 0.587, 95% CI: 0.521, 0.792; P < 0.001) were protective factors for VTE risk, and the length of hospital stay (OR = 1.134, 95% CI: 1.021, 1.199; P=0.007) was a risk factor for VTE. Sulodexide in combination with routine VTE prophylaxis effectively reduces the risk of VTE in neurosurgical patients. A high baseline GCS score is a protective factor for VTE, whereas length of hospital stay is a risk factor for VTE.