Prophylaxis of venous thrombosis and pulmonary embolism in patients with acute traumatic spinal cord lesions.

Twenty-one patients with acute traumatic spinal cord lesions, who were admitted to our spinal unit during 1974, have been treated with calcium heparin, using a dosage of 5000-7500 i.u. at 12-hourly intervals from the first days after the lesion until the use of a wheelchair, as a prophylactic measure in order to prevent venous thromboembolism. Of these 21 patients 18 received this treatment continuously, with a resulting 0 per cent of venous thrombosis and 0 per cent of pulmonary embolisms. In the three remaining cases, treatment had to be temporarily interrupted and in one case clinical thrombo-phlebitis was clearly evident. No case of pulmonary embolism was registered. We consider this technique to be very useful in the prophylaxis of thrombo-embolic complications in this type of patient. The use of this type of prophylactic therapy, results and conclusions are discussed.