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IMPROVE Risk Score for Venous Thromboembolism (VTE)

Estimates 3-month VTE risk in hospitalized medical patients.

IMPROVE Risk Score for Venous Thromboembolism (VTE)
Previous VTE
Known thrombophilia
Current lower-limb paralysis
Current active cancer
Immobilized ≥7 days (current admission)
ICU or CCU stay
Age >60 years
Result0 points

Approximate 3-month symptomatic VTE risk ≈ 0.4 % in the derivation cohort.

3-month VTE risk
≈ 0.4 %

When to use

  • Estimating VTE risk at admission in acutely ill hospitalized medical patients.
  • Informing the decision to start pharmacologic VTE prophylaxis.

Formula

Points: previous VTE +3, known thrombophilia +2, current lower-limb paralysis +2, current cancer +2, immobilization ≥7 days +1, ICU/CCU stay +1, age >60 years +1. Range 0-12.

Pearls and pitfalls

  • A score ≥2 was also associated with higher overall and VTE-related in-hospital mortality in the derivation cohort.

References

  1. Spyropoulos AC, Anderson FA Jr, FitzGerald G, et al. Predictive and associative models to identify hospitalized medical patients at risk for VTE. Chest. 2011;140(3):706-714.