Review: once daily LMWH is as effective as twice daily LMWH for initial treatment of venous thromboembolism
Q Is once daily low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) as effective (for reducing recurrent venous thromboembolism [VTE]) and as safe (with respect to major haemorrhagic events) as twice daily LMWH in the initial treatment of VTE?
METHODS
Data sources:
Cochrane Peripheral Vascular Diseases Specialized Trials Register (up to April 2005), Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) (Cochrane Library, Issue 1, 2005), Medline (up to April 2005), EMBASE/Excerpta Medica (up to April 2005), and bibliographies of relevant articles.
Study selection and assessment:
randomised controlled trials (RCTs) in any language that compared (in an intention to treat analysis) once daily with twice daily use of a fixed dose of subcutaneous LMWH as initial treatment in patients with objectively documented VTE (deep venous thromboembolism [DVT] or pulmonary embolism [PE]). Study quality was assessed using the Jadad scale. Trials without adequate …
