Review: extended out-of-hospital prophylaxis with heparin prevents deep venous thrombosis in elective hip arthroplasty.

S t u d y s e l e c t i o n Studies in any language were selected if they were randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing extended out-of-hospital prophylaxis consisting of LMWH with placebo, patients had had elective hip arthroplasty, the presence or absence of all episodes of deep venous thrombosis (DVT) and proximal venous thrombosis were objectively documented by using bilateral ascending contrast venography, and objective methods were used to assess bleeding complications. D a t a e x t r a c t i o n Data were extracted on sample size, key components of the intervention, study quality, length of hospital stay, time interval from surgery to venography, and outcomes. Main outcomes included all episodes of DVT, proximal venous thrombosis, symptomatic DVT and pulmonary embolism, and major bleeding complications.