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. 2022 Jan-Dec:28:10760296221112081.
doi: 10.1177/10760296221112081.

A Prospective Study Evaluating Patterns of Responses to the Caprini Score to Prevent Venous Thromboembolism After Interventional Treatment for Varicose Veins

Marcelo Halfen Grill  1 , Rodrigo Augusto Caffaro  1 , Thiago Alverez Grill  1 , Valter Castelli Júnior  1 , Roberto Kikuchi  1 , Camilla Moreira Ribeiro  2 , Viviane Santana da Silva  2 , Alfonso J Tafur  3 , Joseph A Caprini  3 , Eduardo Ramacciotti  1   2   4
Affiliations

A Prospective Study Evaluating Patterns of Responses to the Caprini Score to Prevent Venous Thromboembolism After Interventional Treatment for Varicose Veins

Marcelo Halfen Grill et al. Clin Appl Thromb Hemost. 2022 Jan-Dec.

Abstract

Background: Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a critical complication of varicose vein treatments. The Caprini Score (CS) is an established tool to assess patients' VTE risks. One disadvantage is the number of questions required, some of them referring to a low incidence of disease, even lower in patients seeking an elective procedure. These elements take time and may result in filling errors if the CS is not filled out by a properly trained health professional.

Objective: To establish a response pattern in CS, with emphasis on questions that usually have a negative answer and propose a simpler adaptative digital version without changing the original structure of the tool.

Methods: two hundred and twenty-seven patients in the pre-surgical treatment of varicose veins were enrolled prospectively and submitted to the CS evaluation.

Results: The pattern of dichotomous responses could be divided arbitrarily into four subgroups considering the percentage of positive responses: none (11 items), less than 3% (13 items), between 3% and 20% (5 items), and more than 20% (8 items). Of the 12 CS questions related to illnesses that occurred in the last month, ten had had no responses, and 2 were less than 3%.

Conclusion: There is a pattern in the CS responses of patients with an indication of surgical treatment of varicose veins. Many of the CS questions are not helpful in this scenario and may result in filling errors performed by untrained providers. An adaptative version of the CS might benefit varicose veins surgery VTE risk stratification.

Keywords: risk assessment; vascular disease; venous; ‌thromboembolism; ‌varicose veins.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Example of an adaptive questionnaire. Note that male patients do not have to answer questions about the female reproductive system.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Chart with positive responses percentages to CS items. * The presence of varices was inverted to “No Varices” for didactic purposes
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Patients' answers flow. Note that patients who did not have serious health problems in the last month would be spared from answering at least another 11 items
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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