Economic Burden of Venous Thromboembolism in Patients Undergoing Major Abdominal Surgery

Background: Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a serious complication that arises after major abdominal surgery. VTE poses risks of negative outcomes and health care burden. The literature on the cost of VTE in Japanese surgical patients, however, is scarce. Objective: This study was conducted to investigate the economic consequences of VTE in Japanese patients with major abdominal surgery, using a hospital claims database. Methods: This is a retrospective, matched cohort study. Patients who had a VTE event up to 90 days after their first major abdominal surgery and initiated warfarin or heparin within 1 day of VTE diagnosis with continued treatment for more than 4 weeks were matched with controls for surgery type, hospital, and date of surgery 6 months in a 1:2 scheme. The primary outcome was 90-day costs associated with major abdominal surgery. The secondary outcomes were 6-month total costs, average length of ee front matter Copyright & 2015, International S