Hospital deaths linked to clots 'are preventable'

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence has issued new guidelines addressing the number of patients in the UK unnecessarily dying in hospital as a result of blood clots.

The report focuses on reducing the risk of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) – where blood clots block veins - in patients admitted to hospital.

Figures suggest that an estimated 25,000 people who are admitted to hospital die from preventable venous thromboembolism blood clots each year.

Mr Jonothan Earnshaw, consultant general and vascular surgeon at The Circulation Foundation, said: "As surgeons we've been aware of this problem for a long time.

"What goes on happening though is that post-mortems of people who die in hospital later find blood clots in the legs and blood clots in the lungs."

He added that making sure every inpatient is assessed for DVT risk should be priority in UK hospitals.

Options for preventative treatment include blood-thinning drugs such as heparin, anti-embolism stockings and foot impulse or pneumatic devices, which are used to improve blood flow.

Bladder cancer patients over the age of 60 may not be given curative treatments on the NHS, despite having a higher proportion of more aggressive tumours. Older bladder cancer patients are not being given...

A new study by Swedish researchers suggests that nearly half of all prostate cancer deaths could be predicted if a screening test was introduced for men in their late 40s. In the UK, men can request a...

Where you live may reflect how likely you are to survive cancer, according to official government data. Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that there are “wide geographic...

Over 750 patients in England’s hospitals have suffered highly avoidable mistakes over the past four years, reports the BBC. Instruments were left inside patients 332 times A BBC investigation...

The World Health Organization (WHO) issued a warning that the novel coronavirus is likely to be able to be passed from people in close contact. The SARS virus that started in Asia killed 800 people ...