Sulfinpyrazone and Postoperative Deep Vein Thrombosis

Abstract

Small doses of subcutaneous heparin and infusions of dextran both reduce the incidence of fatal pulmonary embolism after elective general surgery. But both methods have disadvantages. Therefore, the protection against deep vein thrombosis afforded by sulfínpyrazone, a drug which can be taken by mouth as well as by injection, was assessed in a prospective study of 119 patients undergoing elective general or urological surgery. The prophylactic administration of sulfínpyrazone was compared with the effects of small doses of sodium heparin and infusions of dextran-70. The ¹²⁵I-fibrinogen test was carried out in all patients during their hospitalization. Deep vein thrombosis was diagnosed in 13 of 30 patients (43%) who received sulfínpyrazone, in 9 of 29 (31%) receiving dextran-70 and in 2 of 22 (9%) having subcutaneous heparin. The difference between the sulfínpyrazone and heparin groups was statistically significant (p < 0.01). Sulfínpyrazone in the dose used in this trial was not effective in reducing the incidence of deep vein thrombosis during elective general surgery.

Dosage in Low-Dose Heparin Prophylaxis

“…= Significant difference under prophylaxis with heparin. Table V shows the relation between body weight and hemorrhagic complica tions in our own patients (11,20,28). We were unable to discover any statistically significant differences among the different weight classes with the X2 test.…”