Anticoagulant Treatment of Thromboembolism with Intravenous Heparin Therapy in the Early Postoperative Period Following Total Joint Arthroplasty*

Background: Treatment of thromboembolism with intravenous heparin therapy in the early postoperative period after total joint arthroplasty has been associated with a high rate of complications. The purpose of the present study was to compare the rate of bleeding complications in a group of patients who required intravenous heparin therapy for the treatment of thromboembolism after total hip or knee arthroplasty with the rate in a control group of patients who re-ceived only prophylactic anticoagulation. Methods: The postoperative courses of forty-four consecutive patients who were managed with intrave-nous administration of heparin and oral administration of warfarin for the treatment of a thromboemboli