AAOS Clincal Practice Guidelines Unit iii v1.0_ 092311
Summary of Recommendations
The following is a summary of the recommendations of the AAOS’ clinical practice
guideline, Preventing Venous Thromboembolic Disease in Patients Undergoing Elective
Hip and Knee Arthroplasty. This summary does not contain rationales that explain how
and why these recommendations were developed, nor does it contain the evidence
supporting these recommendations. All readers of this summary are strongly urged to
consult the full guideline and evidence report for this information. We are confident that
those who read the full guideline and evidence report will see that the recommendations
were developed using systematic evidence-based processes designed to combat bias,
enhance transparency, and promote reproducibility.
This summary of recommendations is not intended to stand alone. Treatment decisions
should be made in light of all circumstances presented by the patient. Treatments and
procedures applicable to the individual patient rely on mutual communication between
patient, physician, and other healthcare practitioners.
1. We recommend against routine post-operative duplex ultrasonography screening
of patients who undergo elective hip or knee arthroplasty. (Grade of
Recommendation: Strong)
2. Patients undergoing elective hip or knee arthroplasty are already at high risk for
venous thromboembolism. The practitioner might further assess the risk of venous
thromboembolism by determining whether these patients had a previous venous
thromboembolism. (Grade of Recommendation: Weak) Current evidence is not
clear about whether factors other than a history of previous venous
thromboembolism increase the risk of venous thromboembolism in patients
undergoing elective hip or knee arthroplasty and, therefore, we cannot
recommend for or against routinely assessing these patients for these factors.
(Grade of Recommendation: Inconclusive)
3. Patients undergoing elective
VTE_summary_of_recs.pdf