Drug may help sickest patients

Patients in critical care have a larger risk for dangerous blood clots because they are
immobile and usually have heart or breathing problems. However, an international
study by McMaster University researchers has found promise in a lower dose formula of
the blood-thinning drug dalteparin.

The Prophylaxis for Thromboembolism in Critical Care Trial (PROTECT) study has found
the drug, which had been believed to be too risky for nearly 20 years, significantly
improves the patient's ability to avoid pulmonary blood clots and did not show an
increased risk of bleeding or death. The study was led by Deborah Cook, a professor of
medicine and clinical epidemiology and biostatistics at the Michael G. DeGroote School
of Medicine at McMaster.

The four-year study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine last month,
involved more than 3,760 patients in 64 hospitals in six countries, including St.
Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton. The McMaster team of eight faculty and staff worked
with others in Australia, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, the United Kingdom and the U.S. The
study was funded by the Canadian Institute for Health Research, the Heart and Stroke
Foundation of Canada and other research foundations.

“Global trials are the way of the future for answering questions about everyday
practice,” said Cook. “Collaborations like this can help us to decrease the morbidity and
mortality of the most seriously ill hospitalized patients in the intensive care unit.”