The risk of developing postoperative venous thromboembolism (VTE) is very high for patients undergoing hip fracture or other major orthopaedic surgery. Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) or pulmonary embolism (PE) can result, and the latter is often fatal. In addition, subsequent complications, including recurrences and ongoing post-thrombotic syndrome (PTS) can prove costly and resource intensive. Low molecular weight heparins, such as enoxaparin sodium, are widely used for routine prophylaxis among these patients. However, recently, the novel pentasaccharide fondaparinux sodium [Arixtra] has been approved for VTE prophylaxis among patients undergoing orthopaedic surgery, and has proven to be more effective than enoxaparin in preventing VTE after hip fracture surgery. The number of patients undergoing hip fracture surgery is rising, in part due to the ageing population worldwide. Thus, assessment of the clinical and economic effects of introducing fondaparinux into clinical practice is of significant value to physicians and healthcare providers. Several studies examining these issues were presented at a large poster session at the 6th Annual European Conference of the International Society of Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research [ISPOR, Nov 2003; Barcelona, Spain].