Consortium data: comparative efficacy of low molecular weight heparin and warfarin following total hip replacement.

The Consortium Study is a prospective, randomized research project designed to extend the medical community's understanding of the incidence of thromboembolic disease following hip replacement surgery. The study's methodology of assessing deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE) is by clinical symptomatology. Once clinical symptoms occur, diagnostic confirmation includes noninvasive techniques such as duplex ultrasonography, venography, VQ lung scan, and/or lung angiography. The study is designed to recruit a cohort of 4500 patients and will involve 150 medical centers in the United States. The final conclusion and definitive data of the incidence of DVT and PE, when comparing enoxaparin with warfarin, will be available after the full complement of 4500 patients is recruited. This study will demonstrate the incidence of thromboembolic disease during the acute hospital phase and the medium-term phase for the patient undergoing elective hip replacement.