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Caprini Score
Predicts venous thromboembolism risk in surgical patients to guide VTE prophylaxis
Indication
- Predicts venous thromboembolism risk in surgical patients to guide VTE prophylaxis
Criteria
- id: age41_60; label: Age 41-60; type: yesno
- id: age61_74; label: Age 61-74; type: yesno
- id: age75; label: Age ≥75; type: yesno
- id: minor_surgery; label: Minor surgery planned; type: yesno
- id: major_surgery; label: Major surgery (>45 min); type: yesno
- id: bmi25; label: BMI > 25; type: yesno
- id: varicose_veins; label: Varicose veins; type: yesno
- id: chf; label: CHF (current); type: yesno
- id: sepsis; label: Sepsis (<1 month); type: yesno
- id: immobilization; label: Bed rest / immobilization; type: yesno
- id: malignancy; label: Malignancy (current or prior); type: yesno
- id: prior_vte; label: Prior DVT/PE; type: yesno
- id: family_vte; label: Family history of VTE; type: yesno
Interpretation
- function(score) { if (score === 0) return { risk: score + ' points', tier: 'Very Low Risk', action: 'VTE risk <0.5%. Early ambulation only.', color: 'green' }; if (score <= 2) return { risk: score + ' points', tier: 'Low Risk', action: 'VTE risk ~1.5%. Pneumatic compression devices (SCDs).', color: 'green' }; if (score <= 4) return { risk: score + ' points', tier: 'Moderate Risk', action: 'VTE risk ~3%. Pharmacologic prophylaxis (LMWH or UFH) + SCDs.', color: 'yellow' }; return { risk: score + ' points', tier: 'High Risk', action: 'VTE risk ~6%+. Pharmacologic prophylaxis + SCDs. Consider extended prophylaxis (4 weeks) for major abdominal/pelvic surgery for cancer.', color: 'red' }; }
Clinical pearls
- This is a simplified version; full Caprini has ~40 risk factors with weighted scores
- Extended prophylaxis (28 days) recommended for Caprini ≥5 after abdominal/pelvic cancer surgery
- Always balance VTE risk against bleeding risk
Source and review
- Caprini et al., Dis Mon 2005; Gould et al., Chest 2012. Last reviewed: 2024-11-01