The design of our study is retrospective in nature. We are interested primarily in the use of LMWH in patients admitted to the general medicine services between January 1, 1997 and February 1, 2001 with a primary and secondary diagnosis related to Venous Thromboembolism, including specific ICD-9 codes.
Using a data abstraction form, we gather the following information: 1) patient demographics, 2) identity of the attending, resident, and interns caring for the patient, 3) whether the patient had any absolute or relative contraindications for receiving LMWH, as delineated by the DVT critical pathway, including insurance status and 4)how the patient was treated for his/her condition. To examine whether the identity of the primary care physician affects whether LMWH is given, we also collect the name of the primary care physician if it is listed on the chart.
