Efficacy and safety of bemiparin as treatment of venous thromboembolic disease in the elderly

BackgroundAs the elderly population continues to grow worldwide, it becomes crucial to explore safe and effective treatment options to manage venous thromboembolic disease in this vulnerable demographic group.MethodsWe carried out a retrospective cohort study (January 2017-December 2021) to analyse the efficacy and safety of bemiparin as a treatment for venous thromboembolic disease in 223 patients. We compared patients aged >= 65 years (elderly; n = 153) with patients aged less than 65 years (adults; n = 70) for a combined end point of death, recurrent thromboembolism, and major bleeding at 30 days.ResultsElderly (mean age 79 +/- 7.7 years) and adult patients (mean age 51.5 +/- 11.6 years) received similar bemiparin doses 8470 +/- 2362 International units (IU)/d versus 8754 +/- 1593 IU/d, during a similar median [Interquartile range] period of 28 [9-118] versus 30 [10-90] days, respectively. At 30-day follow up a total of 24 elderly patients (15.7%), reached at least one of the end points, as compared with six adult patients (8.6%) (absolute difference 7.1%; 95% confidence interval [95% CI], -1.6 to 15.8). Recurrence of venous thromboembolic disease occurred in five elderly patients (3.3%) and in five adult patients (7.1%) (absolute difference -3.9%; 95% CI, -10.5 to 2.8). There were two episodes of major bleeding each in elderly (1.3%) and adult (2.9%) patients (absolute difference -1.6%; 95% CI, -5.8 to 2.7).ConclusionBemiparin showed a similar efficacy and safety profile in the treatment of venous thromboembolic disease in elderly and adult patients.