Padua Score Calculator (VTE risk in hospitalised medical patients)

Understanding the Padua score calculator — concept and principle

The Padua Prediction Score estimates the risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE: deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism) in adults admitted to hospital for a medical illness. It helps decide who should receive preventive anticoagulation (thromboprophylaxis).

Risk factors add up: with the default inputs the result is 6 points (4 or more → high risk).

How it is calculated

Padua score (0–20) = sum of:

3 points each: active cancer, previous VTE, reduced mobility for 3 days or more, known thrombophilia
2 points: trauma or surgery within the last month
1 point each: age 70 or older, heart or respiratory failure, acute heart attack or ischaemic stroke, acute infection or rheumatological disorder, obesity (BMI 30 or more), ongoing hormonal treatment

4 or more = high risk; under 4 = low risk.

The principle

Each factor reflects part of Virchow's triad: slow blood flow (immobility, heart failure), damage to vessel walls (trauma, surgery) and blood that clots more easily (cancer, thrombophilia, hormones, inflammation). Barbar and colleagues (2010) adapted earlier risk models and tested the score prospectively in 1,180 medical inpatients, giving heavier weights to the strongest risk factors.

Worked example

Default inputs: reduced mobility, age 70 or older, heart or respiratory failure, acute infection; everything else no.

Reduced mobility = 3.
Age ≥ 70 = 1; heart or respiratory failure = 1; acute infection = 1.
Total = 3 + 1 + 1 + 1 = 6.
6 ≥ 4 → High risk (4 or more); VTE without prophylaxis in the study about 11%.

How to read the result

Where does your result fall?

In the derivation study, about 11% of high-risk patients without prophylaxis developed VTE within 90 days, compared with about 0.3% in the low-risk group. High-risk patients are generally considered for prophylaxis, but the decision also weighs bleeding risk, kidney function and other factors.

Common mistakes

Using it for surgical patients, who have their own scores such as Caprini.
Counting reduced mobility for a patient who walks to the bathroom and around the ward.
Ignoring bleeding risk when deciding on prophylaxis.

Keep in mind: This is a decision aid for clinicians, not a diagnosis or treatment instruction. Prophylaxis decisions are made by the treating team.

Frequently asked questions

What Padua score is high risk?

4 or more.

What counts as reduced mobility?

Bed rest with bathroom privileges only, expected for at least 3 days.

Is there a bleeding risk score to pair with it?

Yes. The IMPROVE bleeding score is often used alongside it in medical patients.

Sources: Barbar S, Noventa F, Rossetto V, et al., "A risk assessment model for the identification of hospitalized medical patients at risk for venous thromboembolism: the Padua Prediction Score", J Thromb Haemost 2010;8(11):2450–2457

Checked 9 Nov 2026. Barbar S, Noventa F, Rossetto V, et al., “A risk assessment model for the identification of hospitalized medical patients at risk for venous thromboembolism: the Padua Prediction Score”, J Thromb Haemost 2010;8(11):2450–2457 — items and points as listed by Guideline Central and Evigrade (Padua calculator), high risk ≥ 4, VTE about 11% vs under 0.3%.

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