Inadequacy of intravenous heparin therapy in the initial management of venous thromboembolism

To determine the adequacy of initial anticoagulation by intravenous heparin for patients who have deep venous thrombosis (DVT), and the factors that influence delayed anticoagulation, independent, duplicate chart review of 63 consecutive patients who had venography-proven DVT was conducted. Adequate heparinization (AH) was defined as an activated partial thromboplastin time (PTT) of more than 1.5 times the normal laboratory control. The …