Patient's Compliance on the Use of Extended Low Molecular Weight Heparin Post Major Pelvic Surgeries in Cancer Patients at King Hussein Cancer Center.

UNLABELLED Effective Venous Thrombo-Embolism (VTE) prophylaxis is used in less than 50% of oncology patients despite its wide availability. Low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) as a daily injection is an essential tool for effective prophylaxis against deep vein thrombosis (DVT). Daily outpatient self-injection by the patients or their family members is common practice. The effectiveness of this measure depends on patient compliance. OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study is to determine the degree of compliance and the factors that affect compliance to the extended out-patient use of prophylactic LMWH for 1 month after major abdominal/pelvic surgeries in cancer patients at King Hussein Cancer Center (KHCC). PATIENTS AND METHODOLOGY Following major abdominal/pelvic surgeries, data on 160 cancer patients at KHCC from January 2007 until July 2012 were collected concerning knowledge of DVT and compliance with prophylactic self-injections by answering a questionnaire. RESULTS We have achieved a high compliance rate, this was explained by the medical team's role in educating the patients about the risk of VTE and the importance of thromboprophylaxis. The compliance with self-injections was directly associated with younger age, employment and higher degree of education. CONCLUSION The high compliance rate outside clinical trials can be achieved through comprehensive patient education by a well-qualified medical team, clarification of the importance of DVT prophylaxis and patients' support.