Obesity Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Obesity, including details on health, diet, prevention, exercise.

The safety of dosing dalteparin based on actual body weight for the treatment of acute venous thromboembolism in obese patients.

Al-Yaseen E, Wells PS, Anderson J, Martin J, Kovacs MJ

London Health Sciences Center, London, Ontario, Canada.

Data evaluating the safety of using weight-based low-molecular-weight heparin in the treatment of obese patients with acute venous thromboembolism are limited. The product monograph of dalteparin suggests the maximum dose should be limited to 18,000 U subcutaneously once daily. There are no specific data regarding the risk of recurrence or bleeding in patients given dalteparin in a weight-based dose of 200 IU kg(-1). We report a retrospective chart review of 193 obese patients who weighed more than 90 kg and who received dalteparin at or near to 200 IU kg(-1) actual body weight for 5-7 days for acute venous thromboembolism with 90 day follow-up information. Of the patients, 77% had idiopathic venous thromboembolism, 16% had an underlying malignancy, and 7% had a transient risk factor. Warfarin was initiated within 2 days with a target International Normalized Ratio range of 2.0-3.0. All patients were followed for 12 weeks post diagnosis. Only two patients had a major hemorrhage, 4 and 8 weeks from diagnosis. This study supports the safety of dosing dalteparin based on actual body weight in obese patients.

Published 6 January 2005 in J Thromb Haemost, 3(1): 100-2.
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