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ITN
Blood clots 'bigger killer than MRSA'
Blood clots 'bigger killer than MRSA'
Doctors say that blood clots are the most preventable cause of death in our hospitals yet kill around 60 patients a day.More than half of patients who go in for treatment are at risk, but a study has revealed that many are not offered preventative treatment.Blood clots usually form when patients have been resting in bed for long periods of time and can kill if they travel to lungs. Blood-thinning drugs costing only £1 a day could cut the death toll.The study was carried out by Dr Ander Cohen, a vascular consultant at King's College London and Professor Ajay Kakkar, of Bart's and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry.Dr Cohen said: "We are not doing enough to stop patients dying despite scientific studies which clearly show these deaths are unnecessary."And Dr Cohen criticised guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) last year which recommended surgical patients aged between 40 and 60 years be given compression stockings to wear in hospital.He said: "The Nice guidelines are farcical. There is no evidence that stockings save lives but very good evidence that drugs do."In the rest of the world, only 13 per cent of patients get stockings in preference to drugs while in the UK it's supposed to be 100 per cent."© Independent Television News Limited 2008. All rights reserved.
ITN | February 1, 2008
