More than half of hospital patients in the Republic are at risk of an easily preventable disease, research published this morning has found, but only 55 per cent are receiving the appropriate treatment to prevent potentially fatal clots.
Some 550 patients in three acute hospitals - Beaumont, Tralee General and Portlaoise General - participated in an international study of almost 70,000 patients to assess the risk to inpatients of developing venous thromboembolism (VTE), a disease that causes clots in the leg (deep vein thrombosis) and in the lung (pulmonary embolism).
The research, published today in The Lancet, shows that 59 per cent of Irish patients admitted for surgery and 43 per cent of those admitted to a medical ward are at risk of developing a clot. Yet only 47 per cent of medical patients and 64 per cent of surgical patients received the appropriate preventive treatment.
Pulmonary embolism is the most preventable cause of in-hospital death. Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism combined cause 20 times more hospital deaths than the superbug MRSA.
Overall, 52 per cent of people were judged to be at risk of VTE because of factors such as long-term immobility, a previous clot, varicose veins, obesity, taking hormone replacement therapy or oral contraception.
Surgical patients were more likely to receive the appropriate preventive treatment as laid down by the American College of Chest Physicians - an anticoagulant or antiplatelet drug, compression stockings or pneumatic compression. The principal investigator for the Republic, Dr Sean Gaine, a consultant in respiratory medicine at the Mater hospital, Dublin, told The Irish Times there was a lot of work to be done.