The use of dihydroergotamine and heparin in the prophylaxis of deep venous thrombosis.
Three factors leading to the development of postoperative deep venous thrombosis (DVT) are the hypercoagulable state, stasis, and vein wall injury, which occur in patients undergoing surgical procedures. Vein wall injury is thought to occur as a smooth muscle response to surgical trauma in veins distant from the operative site. Heparin and dihydroergotamine (DHE) were combined in an attempt to decrease the hypercoagulable factor and minimize stasis. We believe that by maintaining venous smooth muscle tone, the degree of endothelial damage is also diminished. Low-dose heparin acts through its effect of factor Xa and activation of antithrombin III; DHE selectively increases venous smooth muscle tone to accelerate venous blood flow velocity and minimize venous pooling. The European experience with combination DHE-heparin prophylaxis shows that this combination is more effective than either agent alone, and studies on orthopedic patients have shown that DHE/5,000 is effective in preventing postoperative DVT in this high-risk group. In the US, the Multicenter Trial evaluated postoperative DVT in general surgical patients. The combination of DHE/5,000 was statistically more effective in the prophylaxis of postoperative DVT than placebo (p = 0.0011). The interim results of an ongoing Multicenter Trial on the prophylaxis of postoperative DVT in patients undergoing total hip replacement indicate that DHE/5000 has significant prophylactic efficacy compared to placebo. It is proposed that the mechanism of action of the DHE-heparin combination is synergistic, since all 3 limbs of Virchow's triad are potentially affected.