Don’t Get CLOT By Surprise
March is Blood Clot Awareness month, so we’re running our Don’t Get Clot By Surprise campaign to let everyone know what our Injury-induced Coagulopathy Program is all about.
The short version? We’re working on preventing life-changing blood clots that ensue following injuries.
What is trauma-induced coagulopathy?
Coagulopathy is abnormal blood clotting that occurs following injury or surgery.
Most of the time, blood clotting is a good thing — it prevents excessive bleeding, reduces infection risk, promotes healing, and maintains blood pressure.
Trauma-induced coagulopathy results in an immediate risk of bleeding, followed by a prolonged risk for blood clots — which is called venous thromboembolism (VTE).
VTE includes Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT), blood clots in the legs, and Pulmonary Embolism (PE), blood clots in the lungs — conditions involving abnormal blood clot formation in veins.
When those clots break free and travel through a body, PE and DVT can lead to long hospital stays, prolonged need for blood thinning medications, disability, or even death.
Our Injury-induced Coagulopathy Program is working on a personalized blood thinner treatment based on individual risk to prevent PE and DVT.
Thrombelastography (TEG) analysis is a simple blood test that uses a small sample of whole blood to identify which injured patients may be at risk of developing blood clots, for how long they are at increased risk, and why.
Our research program partners with patients to measure blood clotting abiliy and VTE risk over time, including long-term studies on orthopaedic trauma patients.
Our studies determine VTE risk factors, duration, and mechanisms.
A pilot study compared two oral medications to find the safest, most effective VTE prevention.
667 participants have enrolled and over 4,500 TEG analyses have been completed.
We completed the largest study of hip fracture patients (300) using serial TEG.
Keep it Moving. Keep it Flowing. See more of what our team is doing for this campaign!
Keep it Moving. Keep it Flowing. See more of what our team is doing for this campaign!
Our patients undergo serial TEG, coagulation, and inflammation marker testing.
“After my femur fracture, I was afraid to go to sleep because I worried that the blood clot in my leg would travel to my lung again, but this time, I may not wake up.”
In Canada, the cost for treatment of blood clots and associated complications is $600 million per year.
Over 50% of hip fracture patients remain at increased VTE risk for six weeks post-op.
DVT causes pain, immobility, and reduced quality of life.
VTE are devastating for patients, their families, and their surgeons
“The goal of our research program is to provide information for preventing the mortality and morbidity associated with VTE.”
No consensus exists on the best medication or treatment duration of blood thinners for VTE prevention.
PE is a leading cause of preventable death in orthopaedic surgery patients.
Only 1 in 5 hip fracture patients properly adhere to injectable blood thinners.
We are investigating the safety and efficacy of oral blood thinners