Cost-effectiveness of routine screening for proximal deep venous thrombosis in acquired brain injury patients admitted to rehabilitation.

OBJECTIVE: Determine the prevalence of proximal deep venous thrombosis (DVT) among acquired brain injury patients on admission to rehabilitation and assess cost-effectiveness of routine ultrasound screening for proximal DVT in those patients.

DESIGN: Prospective study, sequential case series.

SETTING: University tertiary care rehabilitation center.

DATA SET: One hundred sixteen traumatic brain injury patients (TBI) and 48 nontraumatic brain injury patients were admitted to our brain injury (BI) unit over a 21-month period and screened for a DVT on admission to rehabilitation utilizing real time, Doppler, and color Doppler ultrasound. Patients with a previous clinically recognized and treated DVT were excluded. No patients had been treated with prophylactic anticoagulation or intermittent anticoagulation since their BI and all patients were within 4 months of the original injury.

RESULTS: Fourteen patients in total (8.5%) were found to have a DVT in the thigh or popliteal area, 9 of the 116 patients in the TBI group (7.8%), and 5 of the 48 patients in the nontraumatic BI group (10.4%). Statistically, there was no significant difference in the total number of detected proximal lower extremity DVTs between the TBI and the nontraumatic BI groups (Fisher's exact test). In the TBI group 22 patients had associated lower extremity or pelvic fractures, but this factor appeared not to be significant, because only 1 of the 22 patients was discovered to have a DVT. The average admission Glascow Coma Score (GCS) of the TBI group was 8.6 but there was no correlation with the GCS and prevalence of DVT. The additional cost of screening for and treating the additional DVTs utilizing color Doppler ultrasound is conservatively estimated to be $674.84 per patient admitted to the BI rehabilitation unit. It can be estimated the cost of saving one life is $129,527.83.

CONCLUSION: DVT screening in this patient population appears to be more cost-effective than mass screening programs for either breast cancer or colorectal cancer. The cost per year of life saved, estimated at only $2,977.65 ($129,527.83/43.5 years) for DVT screening for brain injury patients on admission to rehabilitation, is lower than those costs proposed for comparable programs with significant social support.