A clinical evaluation of aspirin prophylaxis of thromboembolic disease after total hip arthroplasty.

Prophylaxis of thromboembolic disease using aspirin was studied prospectively in 340 patients undergoing total hip replacement, excluding those with prior thromboembolic disease. Clinical criteria were used to diagnose thrombophlebitis, while clinical criteria, roentgenography, blood-gas determinations, electrocardiography, and pulmonary vascular scanning were used to diagnose pulmonary emboli. Five patients had signs of symptoms of pulmonary emboli, all confirmed by pulmonary vascular scan. No fatal pulmonary emboli occurred. Twenty-six patients had thrombophlebitis. Without simultaneous control group, a reduction in postoperative thromboembolic disease in these patients receiving aspirin was not proved. However, the observed low incidence of clinically evident thromboembolic manifestations suggests that aspirin may be a simple and useful prophylactic agent in these patients.