Validation of a dosing regimen for fixed-dose, weight-adjusted, subcutaneous unfractionated heparin for the acute treatment of venous thrombo-embolism in a population from a resource-constrained environment.

A study in Canada and New Zealand (Kearon et al.) suggested that fixed-dose unmonitored subcutaneous (SC) unfractionated heparin (UFH) is as effective and safe as low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH) for the acute treatment of venous thrombo-embolism. While this trial has limitations, it provides evidence to support the use of SC UFH in a resource-constrained environment. However, because public sector patients with VTE in South Africa often have multiple co-morbidities and are thinner and younger than those in that study, the local validity of the published dosing regimen is unclear.