Calculate the Padua VTE risk score for medical inpatients. Uses 11 risk factors to frame short-term hospital VTE risk and prevention discussions.
The Padua Prediction Score is a widely used risk assessment model for venous thromboembolism (VTE) in medical inpatients. Published by Barbar et al. in 2010, it uses 11 clinical risk factors to identify hospitalized medical patients who sit in higher- or lower-risk VTE bands.
Hospital-associated VTE accounts for a large share of overall DVT and PE events. Systematic risk assessment helps separate patients who may need closer prevention review from those whose care is more often centered on mobility and routine inpatient measures.
A Padua score ≥4 identifies patients with a substantially higher 30-day VTE risk than patients with scores <4. That threshold is commonly used to frame prevention discussions, but bleeding risk, contraindications, and local protocols still need separate review before a plan is chosen.
Pharmacologic VTE prevention is not risk-free, so a broad "treat everyone" approach is not ideal for medical inpatients. The Padua score helps structure who falls into a higher-risk versus lower-risk VTE context.
The score is most useful when read alongside bleeding-risk tools, current mobility, and the broader admission picture rather than as a stand-alone prophylaxis order engine.
Padua Score = Sum of: Active cancer: 3 pts Previous VTE: 3 pts Reduced mobility (≥3 days): 3 pts Known thrombophilia: 3 pts Recent trauma/surgery (≤1 month): 2 pts Age ≥70: 1 pt Heart/respiratory failure: 1 pt Acute MI or ischemic stroke: 1 pt Acute infection/rheumatic disorder: 1 pt Obesity (BMI ≥30): 1 pt Ongoing hormonal treatment: 1 pt Range: 0-20 <4: Lower VTE risk context ≥4: Higher VTE risk context that commonly prompts prevention review
Result: Padua Score 8 — High Risk
Active cancer (3) + reduced mobility (3) + age ≥70 (1) + obesity (1) = 8 points. That is well above the threshold of 4, placing the patient in a higher-risk VTE band that commonly prompts prevention review after bleeding risk and contraindications are assessed.
The Padua score is good at splitting medical inpatients into lower- and higher-risk VTE groups using variables that are usually available on admission. That makes it useful for structured bedside review and quality-improvement workflows.
The score does not measure bleeding risk, does not account for every contraindication, and does not replace local policy. It should be paired with a bleeding-risk review and the broader clinical picture before any prevention strategy is finalized.
Critically ill patients, pregnant patients, and patients with unusual thrombosis or bleeding disorders often need tools or pathways beyond Padua alone. In those groups, the score is best treated as one input rather than the entire decision framework.
Last updated:
This calculator applies the Padua Prediction Score exactly as a medical-inpatient VTE risk model by summing the published 3-point, 2-point, and 1-point factors into the standard total. It then separates the result at the usual cutoff of 4 points so the user can frame prophylaxis decisions the way the original Padua model was designed to support.
The page is intended as a thromboprophylaxis risk-assessment aid rather than a complete prophylaxis protocol. Bleeding risk, renal function, contraindications to anticoagulation, and local inpatient VTE-prevention pathways still need to be considered before treatment is chosen.
No. The Padua score was developed and validated for MEDICAL inpatients. Surgical patients should use the Caprini score or Rogers score, which account for procedure-specific risk factors (type of surgery, duration, anesthesia type). Surgical VTE prophylaxis follows separate guidelines.
That is exactly why the Padua score should not be used by itself. Bleeding risk, contraindications, and local protocols need to be reviewed alongside the Padua result before a prevention plan is chosen.
Standard duration: throughout the hospital stay and until the patient is fully mobile. Extended prophylaxis (up to 45 days) may benefit select higher-risk patients (the EXCLAIM and MARINER trials showed modest benefit in high-risk subgroups, but with increased bleeding). Extended-duration betrixaban was FDA-approved based on APEX trial data.
That depends on renal function, bleeding risk, local policy, and the broader inpatient picture. This page keeps the discussion at risk-stratification level rather than acting as a medication order sheet.
Bed rest with bathroom privileges for an anticipated ≥3 days. This includes patients who are too ill to ambulate, those on strict bed rest for medical reasons, and patients with conditions that severely limit mobility (e.g., paralysis, severe pain). Brief periods out of bed for toileting alone still qualify.
For medical inpatients, aspirin is NOT considered adequate VTE prophylaxis. While low-dose aspirin has shown some benefit in post-surgical VTE prevention (EPCAT II, CRISTAL trials), it is significantly less effective than LMWH for medical thromboprophylaxis. Patients on aspirin for cardiac indications who are Padua ≥4 should receive LMWH prophylaxis.