Small Subcutaneous Doses of Heparin in Prevention of Venous Thrombosis

The effect of 5000 U of heparin given subcutaneously three times daily on the frequency of venous thrombosis detected by 125-I-fibrinogen scanning was evaluated in a prospective randomized study of 350 high-risk surgical and medical patients. Heparin treatment reduced the rate of venous thrombosis from 19 of 118 patients (16.1 per cent) to two of 108 (1.9 per cent) treated after elective surgery, from 11 of 23 untreated (48 per cent) to three …