Thrombosis

Thrombosis
On a typically busy hospital ward, even the most astute healthcare professional can miss a clinically silent venous thromboembolism (VTE) in patients admitted for another medical condition such as cancer, obesity or even pregnancy.

In fact, the UK Department of Health estimates that every year 25,000 people lose their lives in UK hospitals to pulmonary embolism (PE). In the US, hospitals now face penalties for discharging patients who later experience a VTE-related incident. And untreated cases can lead to long-term morbidity from post-thrombotic syndrome, placing the health service under even more strain.

Thankfully, once detected, VTE is highly treatable. LEO Pharma has been developing heparin-based products to combat VTE since the 1940s. Harnessing all our knowledge and experience, we are committed to helping healthcare professionals identify and treat high-risk patient groups for VTE – and to prevent needless suffering and loss of life.

Treating thrombosis
VTE is treated with heparins, a group of anti-coagulants that occur in the body. The challenge for healthcare professionals lies in the characteristics of the patients that are commonly diagnosed with VTE. Many of them have co-morbidities, use concomitant medications and, as a result, may exhibit an altered physiological profile.

With so many variables in play, hard clinical trial evidence is difficult to find; a fact exacerbated by the reluctance to carry out clinical studies with these clinically challenging patients.

Despite these challenges, heparin-based products continue to be an essential part of critical care. They are administered as a prophylactic measure to patients in high-risk groups, and in doses four times greater to treat patients diagnosed with VTE.

At LEO Pharma, we have a 70 years experience in helping healthcare professionals meet their daily clinical challenges in thrombosis.