Letter to the Editor Coagulation Disorders in Traumatic Brain Injury

We read with great interest the recent article by Dudley and associates on early venous thromboembolic event (VTE) prophylaxis in traumatic brain injury (TBI) with low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH; Dudley, 2010). In that study the authors investigated the occurrence and timing of VTE, the symptomatic expansion of intracranial hemor-rhages while on VTE prophylaxis, and the efficacy of two prophylactic agents. VTE occurred in 7.3 % of patients. No significant difference in VTE occurrence between the two prophylactic agents was noted. Expansion of intracranial hemorrhage was noted in one patient. The authors con-cluded that VTE prophylaxis provides adequate protection, and that the risk of intracranial hemorrhage expansion is extremely low (Dudley, 2010). Coagulopathy is frequently encountered in patients fol