The impact of adopting low-molecular-weight heparin in place of aspirin as routine thromboprophylaxis for patients with hip fracture.

Purpose Of The Study: In 2010, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommended the use of anticoagulants rather than aspirin as pharmacological thromboprophylaxis after hip fracture. We examine the impact of implementing this change in guidance on the clinical incidence of deep vein thrombosis (DVT).

Study Design: Demographic, radiographic and clinical data were retrospectively collected for 5039 patients admitted to a single tertiary centre in the UK for hip fracture between 2007 and 2017.

Prescribing patterns of oral antiplatelets in Wales: evolving trends from 2005 to 2016.

Aim: Antiplatelets have been used for decades to prevent atherothrombotic disease, but there is limited 'real-life' prescribing data. We hereby report the prescribing patterns for oral antiplatelets in Wales, UK.

Methods/results: Retrospective analysis of anonymized data in Wales from 2005 to 2016 revealed differences in prescribing patterns of oral antiplatelets.

Securing a cardiology speciality training programme in the UK: how did other people do it?

Background: Application to cardiology specialty training is competitive with uncertainty among candidates as to what the secret recipe for a successful appointment is. We aimed to investigate objective variables, which were demonstrated by successful appointees to cardiology training schemes in the UK.

Methods: Data from successful cardiology applicants for the years 2014 to 2016 were obtained from the Joint Royal Colleges of Physicians Training Board under the Freedom of Information Act.