Thromboprophylaxis for Patients in ICU With COVID-19

The respiratory distress that goes with COVID-19 infection has been related to a procoagulant state, with thrombosis at both venous and arterial levels, that determines hypoxia and tissue dysfunction at several organs. The main sign of this thrombotic activity seems to be the D-Dimers, that have been proposed to identify patients with poor prognosis at an early stage. Knowledge on how to prevent or even treat this procoagulant state is scarce. COVID-19 patients may be out of general thromboprophylaxis recommendations, and recent studies suggest a better prognosis in severe COVID-19 patients receiving anticoagulant therapy with low molecular weight heparin (LMWH). However, the LMWH efficacy and safety, mainly in patients admitted to an Intensive Care Unit, remains to be validated.