A study by the University of Michigan Health System found that patients receiving outpatient surgery, or same-day surgery that doesn’t require an overnight hospital stay, are at risk for blood clots. But unlike their counterparts who are hospitalized, the same-day surgery patients sometimes don’t get adequate warnings about the blood clot risks.
The study found that 1-in-84 of the highest-risk patients suffers a dangerous blood clot after surgery.
According to a University of Michigan Health System news release, the situation is worrisome because more than 60 percent of procedures are now being done in an outpatient setting. The researchers call for better screening of the patients getting those procedures.
The news release quotes lead study author Christopher J. Pannucci, M.D., as saying:
“Once a setting for those having simple procedures, outpatient surgery now includes a greater variety of procedures from plastic surgery to cancer operations and orthopedic surgery, and not all patients are young, healthy individuals.”
According to the study, vein surgery and arthroscopic surgery put patients at particular risk of venous thromboembolism, or blood clots that form in the veins and can prove deadly if they travel to the lungs. But the researchers found that a majority of patients had multiple factors that could put them at risk for blood clots, including age, surgery length, current pregnancy and active cancer and type of surgical procedure.
The Mayo Clinic also identifies use of oral contraceptives as a risk factor for blood clots. While all birth control pills can raise the risk of blood clots, numerous studies indicate that pills containing the compound drospirenone present a much higher risk.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently changed the labels on pills containing drospirenone – including Yasmin, Yaz, Beyaz and Ocella – to reflect that heightened risk.
See the news release here: https://www.uofmhealth.org/news/vte-risk-outpatients-0424
