Padua Score Calculator

The Padua Prediction Score is a clinical risk assessment model published by Barbar and colleagues in 2010. It estimates the risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE) — deep-vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism — in hospitalized medical patients. It assigns weighted points to 11 risk factors and adds them into a total score from 0 to 20. It is a screening aid for education and risk stratification, not a diagnosis and not medical advice.

The score was developed and validated in adult patients admitted to an internal-medicine department — that is, hospitalized medical patients. It was not designed for surgical patients, and the original study excluded patients with renal disease, thrombocytopenia, major or recent bleeding, and pregnant patients, as well as anyone under 18. Applying it outside a comparable population is not supported by the original evidence.

Four factors are worth 3 points each: active cancer, a previous VTE (excluding superficial vein thrombosis), reduced mobility, and a known thrombophilic condition. Recent trauma and/or surgery (within one month) is worth 2 points. Six factors are worth 1 point each: age 70 or older, heart and/or respiratory failure, acute myocardial infarction or ischemic stroke, acute infection and/or rheumatologic disorder, obesity (BMI 30 or greater), and ongoing hormonal treatment.

A total score of less than 4 is considered low risk of VTE, and a score of 4 or more is considered high risk — that is the cutoff reported in the original paper. The boundary matters: a score of exactly 4 already falls in the high-risk group. What follows from the band (monitoring, prophylaxis) is a clinical decision made by the treating physician, not by this calculator.

20. The four 3-point factors contribute at most 12, the single 2-point factor contributes at most 2, and the six 1-point factors contribute at most 6, so 12 + 2 + 6 = 20. Reaching 20 requires every risk factor to be present.

In the published guidance tables built on this model, high-risk patients (score 4 or more) were the group for whom VTE prophylaxis — pharmacologic or mechanical — was considered, while low-risk patients were generally not given prophylaxis. This is educational context only: this tool does not prescribe anything. The real decision must weigh bleeding risk and contraindications, and it belongs to the patient's own clinician.

They answer different questions in different patients. The Padua score stratifies VTE risk in hospitalized medical patients — it helps decide who is at risk before a clot forms. The Wells scores are diagnostic tools for patients already suspected of having a deep-vein thrombosis or a pulmonary embolism — they estimate how likely a clot is already present and guide testing. The two are not interchangeable.

The populations differ: the Padua score was built for medical inpatients, while the Caprini score (and similar surgical models) was built for surgical patients. Using a surgical risk model on a medical patient — or vice versa — goes beyond what each model was validated for.

The paper defines it as bed rest with bathroom privileges — either because the patient cannot do more or on a physician's order — for at least 3 days. Simply walking less than usual around the ward does not meet this definition.

It came from a prospective cohort study of 1,180 consecutive patients admitted to a department of internal medicine in Padua, Italy, between January 2007 and December 2008, with follow-up for up to 3 months after admission. Of these, 469 patients (39.7%) scored 4 or more and were classified as high risk; the remaining 711 (60.3%) were low risk. High-risk patients developed symptomatic VTE substantially more often.

No. This calculator is an educational screening aid, not medical advice and not a diagnosis. VTE prevention involves real trade-offs — anticoagulants reduce clot risk but increase bleeding risk — and those trade-offs can only be judged by a qualified clinician who knows the patient. If you are hospitalized or concerned about clot risk, speak with your treating physician.

No. This tool runs entirely in your browser: the checkboxes you tick and the score computed from them never leave your device. There is no account, no analytics on your selections, and nothing is uploaded to any server.