Journal of Pediatric Neurological Disorders
Open Access

Research Article

Canadian Practice Patterns of Venous Thromboembolism Prophylaxis for Adults with Spinal Cord Injury

Ethans K^1*, Deng G¹, Townson A², Jacquemin G³, Smith K⁴, O'Connell C⁴, Askari S⁵ and Ho C⁶

¹Section of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada.

²UBC Division of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada

³Université de Montréal, Quebec, Canada.

⁴Dalhousie University, Stan Cassidy Centre for Rehabilitation, Canada.

⁵Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Queen's University, Canada.

⁶Division of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Calgary, Canada.

*Corresponding Author:

Ethans K
Section of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Department of Internal Medicine
University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada
Fax: 204-787-1476
E-mail: kethans@hsc.mb.ca

Received Date: April 18, 2016; Accepted Date: June 06, 2016; Published Date: June 13, 2016

Citation: Ethans K, Deng G, Townson A, Jacquemin G, Smith K, et al. (2016) Canadian Practice Patterns of Venous Thromboembolism Prophylaxis for Adults with Spinal Cord Injury. J Pediatr Neurol Disord 2:106. doi: 10.4172/2572-5203.1000106

Copyright: © 2016 Ethans K, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Context: According to current reviews and guidelines, venous thromboembolism (VTE) prophylaxis in spinal cord injury (SCI) includes low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) in combination with mechanical prophylaxis. The level of evidence for VTE prophylaxis is varied among the recommendations. National best practice consensus is extremely important in the care of patients especially in situations when the evidence are vague and varied. Objective: To ascertain practice patterns of VTE prophylaxis by Canadian SCI rehabilitation physiatrists in adults admitted to a rehabilitation unit for spinal cord injury rehabilitation. Method: An invitation to participate in this project was distributed to Canadian SCI Rehabilitation physiatrists through the “SCI Hallways”, a private online forum for consultation between Canadian physiatrists. Results: A total of 10 physiatrists from 8 of 13 Canadian academic rehabilitation programs participated. All participants stated that their practice involved using a form of mechanical VTE prophylaxis and LMWH for 8 to 12 weeks. Conclusion: Use of VTE prophylaxis for SCI is consistent among Canadian physiatrist and matches guidelines for VTE prophylaxis in spinal cord injury.

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