❤️

Caprini VTE Risk Score Calculator

Q: How do I count a patient with cancer having major surgery?

Malignancy is a 2-point factor and the operation counts separately, so a 65-year-old with cancer having major surgery starts at 2 + 2 + 2 = 6 (high) before any other factors.

Q: Is Caprini used for medical inpatients?

It can be, but the Padua Prediction Score was designed for medical patients and is preferred there.

Post-operative venous thromboembolism risk with the Caprini score — age, surgery type, medical conditions, mobility, hormones, prior VTE, thrombophilia — with recommended prophylaxis level.

Age

Planned surgery

Number of 1-point factors (varicose veins, obesity BMI > 25, swollen legs, sepsis < 1 month, serious lung disease/pneumonia < 1 month, abnormal pulmonary function, acute MI, CHF < 1 month, inflammatory bowel disease, medical patient at bed rest, oral contraceptives/HRT, pregnancy or post-partum < 1 month, history of unexplained stillbirth or recurrent miscarriage)

Number of 2-point factors (central venous access, malignancy present or previous, confined to bed > 72 h, immobilising plaster cast < 1 month)

Number of 3-point factors (history of DVT/PE, family history of thrombosis, factor V Leiden, prothrombin 20210A, lupus anticoagulant, anticardiolipin antibodies, elevated homocysteine, HIT, other thrombophilia)

Loading calculator…

How it works

Sum of weighted factors: age 0–3, surgery 0/1/2/5, plus 1-, 2- and 3-point conditions. 0–1 very low, 2 low, 3–4 moderate, 5–8 high, ≥ 9 highest

The Caprini risk assessment model is the most widely used tool for deciding venous thromboembolism prophylaxis in surgical patients. It adds dozens of possible risk factors, weighted from one point (obesity, varicose veins, hormone therapy) to five (hip or knee replacement, major trauma, stroke), and maps the total to a prophylaxis strategy: nothing beyond walking for the lowest scores, mechanical compression for low risk, and anticoagulant injections — increasingly for an extended period after discharge — as scores climb. The 2005 version shown here underpins the ACCP guideline recommendations for general, plastic and gynaecological surgery. Bleeding risk must be weighed separately; where it is high, mechanical prophylaxis substitutes for drugs.

Worked example

A 55-year-old having a 90-minute laparoscopic colectomy, BMI 29: age 1 + surgery 2 + obesity 1 = 4 — moderate risk, LMWH or heparin prophylaxis.

Frequently asked questions

How do I count a patient with cancer having major surgery?

Malignancy is a 2-point factor and the operation counts separately, so a 65-year-old with cancer having major surgery starts at 2 + 2 + 2 = 6 (high) before any other factors.

Is Caprini used for medical inpatients?

It can be, but the Padua Prediction Score was designed for medical patients and is preferred there.

Related calculators

Padua Prediction Score Calculator (VTE in Medical Patients)

Venous thromboembolism risk for hospitalised medical patients with the Padua Prediction Score — active cancer, prior VTE, reduced mobility, thrombophilia, trauma, age, heart or respiratory failure, MI or stroke, infection, obesity, hormones.

Wells DVT Score Calculator

Assess the clinical probability of deep vein thrombosis with the Wells DVT criteria — nine clinical points, minus two when an alternative diagnosis is at least as likely.

Heparin Weight-Based Dosing Calculator

Calculate a weight-based unfractionated heparin bolus and starting infusion in units, mL and mL/hour (VTE nomogram 80 units/kg + 18 units/kg/h, ACS 60 units/kg + 12 units/kg/h with maximums, or your protocol's doses and caps), then convert an aPTT result into the nomogram rate change.

Clinical decision tool for education and for use by trained clinicians alongside judgement — not a diagnosis and not a substitute for medical assessment. Scores validated in specific populations may not apply to every patient.