Conti S, Daschbach M.
Venous thromboembolism prophylaxis: a survey of its use in the United States.
Arch Surg 1982 Aug;117(8):1036-40

Despite controversy about their effectiveness, low-dose heparin therapy and elastic
stockings were the methods most frequently selected by surgeons in a national
survey on thromboembolism prophylaxis. These methods were selected even for
patients with an extremely high risk of thrombosis. Surgeons responding to this
survey apparently did not discriminate between degrees of patient risk, did not
recognize the limitations of low-dose heparin and elastic stockings in protecting
high-risk patients, and were unfamiliar with more effective methods of
prophylaxis, ie, warfarin, dextran, and intermittent pneumatic compression. There
is clearly a need for more specific data regarding the safe use of effective
thromboembolism prophylaxis in surgical patients.