Prevalence of use of anticoagulants in 502 elderly hospitalized patients at increased risk for systemic embolism or venous thromboembolism without contraindications to anticoagulants in a university hospital.

We investigated, in a university hospital, the prevalence of use of anticoagulants in 502 elderly hospitalized patients at increased risk for systemic embolism or venous thromboembolism without contraindications to anticoagulants. The 502 patients included 291 men and 211 women with a mean age of 77 +/- 7 years (range, 65-98 years). Anticoagulants were used to treat 479 of 502 hospitalized patients (95%) at increased risk for systemic embolism or venous thromboembolism. Of the 479 patients treated with anticoagulants, 317 (66%) were treated with unfractionated heparin, 203 (42%) with warfarin, 81 (17%) with low-molecular-weight heparin, two (<1%) with fondaparinux, and two (<1%) with argatroban.