Cairo SB, et al. - Researchers aim to define risk factors for venous thromboembolic events in pediatric surgical patients when prophylaxis is indicated. Multivariate regression suggests an increased venous thromboembolism (VTE) risk for patients older than 15 years and those with pre-existing renal failure or a diagnosis of septic shock, patient with American Society of Anesthesia Classification > 2, and for anesthetic times longer than 2 hours. They identified no increased risk of VTE based on malignancy, chemotherapy, inflammatory bowel disease, or laparoscopic surgical approach. There appeared an association of female sex with increased risk for all surgical patients, however, the difference was not significant in general surgery procedures of the abdomen and pelvis. In pediatric patients undergoing general surgery procedures, a model specifically incorporating these risk factors may provide help in identifying patients at increased risk of VTE.