Monitoring hypercoagulation in trauma patients RationaleIt is now well recognised that in the acute phase, after major trauma, the coagulation system is dynamic and, particularly in bleeding patients with trauma-induced coagulopathy or severe brain injury, a hypercoagulable phenotype develops universally within 24 to 48 h. 1 Achieving adequate venous thromboembolism prophylaxis (VTEp) in trauma patients remains challenging for several reasons and despite standardised protocols to administer low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH), up to 18% of critically injured patients will develop deep venous thrombosis (DVT) or pulmonary embolism despite pharmacoprophylaxis. 2 Measuring serum anti-Xa levels has been proposed to help titrate VTEp, with consensus defining prophylactic anti-Xa levels as 0.2 to 0.4 IU ml À1 for peak measurements or 0.1 to 0.2 IU ml À1 for trough levels, with values below this being subprophylactic. 3 Studies have shown that prophylactic anti-Xa levels compared with subprophylactic levels predict the risk of a clinically significant VTE in trauma patients. [4][5][6] Two studies have reported that anti-Xa-guided dosing of LMWH reduces the rate of VTE after trauma compared with a standard fixed dose of enoxaparin. 7,8 However, a more recent large single centre study has failed to show any benefit of anti-Xa guided dosing for VTEp. 9 Weight-adjusted protocols for LMWH are used in published guidelines 10 based on a handful of studies demonstrating improved rates of prophylactic anti-FXa levels and overall lower VTE rates.