Twelve‐month risk of thromboembolic events in COVID‐19 hospital survivors in Scotland

COVID-19 may predispose patients to arterial and venous thrombotic disorders due to endothelial dysfunction and platelet activation [1]. High rates of in-hospital arterial/ venous thromboembolism have been reported [2] and are likely to persist post-discharge. Current UK guidelines suggest prophylactic anticoagulation for a minimum of 7 days, including after hospital discharge [3]. A recent trial found benefit in extending prophylaxis for 35 days after discharge in high-risk patients [4]. We aimed to identify the risk of arterial/venous thromboembolism in a national population in the 12 months after hospital discharge following COVID-19 in order to inform prophylaxis strategies, including anticoagulation decisions and duration. We used routine healthcare data to identify all COVID19 hospital survivors from the adult Scottish population of 5.5 million and without documented contraindications to anticoagulation (online Supporting Information, Appendix S1), discharged before 23 August 2021. All patients were followed-up until 23 September 2021 or until