This is a bibliographic record of a published health technology assessment from a member of INAHTA. No evaluation of the quality of this assessment has been made for the HTA database.

NHSC. Fondaparinux for venous thromboembolism - horizon scanning review. Birmingham: National Horizon Scanning Centre (NHSC). New and Emerging Technology Briefing. 2001

To summarise the current research evidence on fondaparinux for prevention of venous thromboembolic disease.

- Clinical impact: There is evidence from unpublished trials that fondaparinux is more effective than enoxaparin in the prevention of venous thromboembolism (VTE) post-operatively. These trials suggest an overall risk reduction, when compared to enoxaparin, of around 50%. - Service impact: There is unlikely to be any significant effect on health services as these products will directly compete with current therapies. However, the post-operative administration of fondaparinux may lead to some advantages to surgeons during surgery, and the use of safety syringe should reduce the risk of needle-stick injuries. Fondaparinux is administered over a shorter course than low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) and may lead to some reduction in service use. - Patient issues: Fondaparinux is manufactured from a synthetic source which means it is suitable for patients who cannot consume animal products for cultural reasons. - Financial and overall NHS impact: As there is no cost data available it is difficult to predict the financial impact of these new drugs. However if the relative risk reduction is confirmed in practice there may be a reduction in the number of post-operative VTE events and a reduction in health service usage and possibly deaths

Available on request from NHSC.

Subject indexing assigned by CRD

Thromboembolism /prevention& Venous Thrombosis /prevention& control; control

English

England

An English language summary is available.

The NIHR Horizon Scanning Centre, Department of Public Health, Epidemiology, and Biostatistics, School of Health and Population Sciences, University of Birmingham, 90 Vincent Drive, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2SP. United Kingdom. Tel: +44 121 414 7831, Fax: +44 121 2269 Email: c.packer@bham.ac.uk

32002000849

03/09/2002

03/09/2002