Introduction:

Venous thromboembolism is a preventable cause of death in critically ill patients. The most common thromboprophylaxis strategy is the use of low molecular weight heparins, however it is not known which is superior. Bemiparin shows a favorable pharmacologic profile.

Objective:

Evaluate the safety profile of bemiparin thromboprophylaxis in the critically ill.

Materials and methods:

This retrospective observational trail was carried out in an adult intensive care unit. Patients hospitalized between December 2013 and June 2015 receiving bemiparin throboprophylaxis were included. The presence of major bleeding, thrombocytopenia and the correlation between dose and adverse events was noted.

Results:

111 critically ill patients received bemiparin thromboprophylaxis No episodes of venous thromboembolism were recorded. 6.3% of patients had a major bleeding episode during their intensive care unit stay. The incidence of severe thrombocytopenia was 1.8%, while 8.6% of patients had a platelet count decrease typical of heparin induced thrombocytopenia, no cases were recorded. Adverse events were not associated with bemiparin dose.

Conclusions:

The safety of bemiparin thromboprofilaxis is similar to that of other Low Molecular Weight Heparins (LMWH) in critically ill patients.

        · abstract in Spanish | Portuguese     · text in Spanish     · Spanish ( pdf )