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Padua Score Calculator

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Calculate the Padua Prediction Score to estimate venous thromboembolism risk in hospitalized medical patients and gauge need for thromboprophylaxis.

Reviewed by the thecalcu.com team · Last updated August 1, 2026

Active Cancer (3 pts)

Previous VTE (Excluding Superficial Thrombosis) (3 pts)

Reduced Mobility (Bedrest ≥3 Days) (3 pts)

Known Thrombophilic Condition (3 pts)

Recent (≤1 Month) Trauma or Surgery (2 pts)

Age ≥70 (1 pt)

Heart and/or Respiratory Failure (1 pt)

Acute MI or Ischemic Stroke (1 pt)

Acute Infection or Rheumatologic Disorder (1 pt)

Obesity (BMI ≥30) (1 pt)

Ongoing Hormonal Treatment (1 pt)

Padua Score

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VTE Risk Category

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Not a substitute for clinical judgment. Decisions about starting pharmacologic thromboprophylaxis must weigh bleeding risk and individual patient factors, and must always be made by a qualified healthcare provider — never from this tool alone.

What is a Padua Score?

The Padua Score Calculator computes the Padua Prediction Score, a validated tool used to assess venous thromboembolism (VTE) risk in hospitalized medical patients and guide decisions about pharmacologic thromboprophylaxis. The score sums weighted points across eleven risk factors, ranging from 1 to 3 points each, for a maximum possible score well above the high-risk threshold of 4.

Select yes or no for each applicable risk factor below to see your total score and VTE risk category. For a related bleeding-risk tool often paired with prophylaxis decisions, see the HAS-BLED Calculator; for a related pulmonary embolism assessment tool, see the PERC Calculator.

Why Use a Padua Score Calculator?

Manually summing eleven risk factors with different point weights (3, 2, and 1 points) is easy to miscalculate, especially in a busy hospital ward setting. This calculator handles the arithmetic instantly and shows exactly which factors are contributing to the total score.

It's useful for hospital clinicians reviewing a patient's VTE risk factors at admission, and for nursing and medical students checking a worked Padua Score example against the published criteria.

Who Should Use This Calculator?

Hospital-based clinicians assessing VTE risk in newly admitted medical patients can use this tool to check a worked Padua Score calculation against the published criteria. Nursing and medical students studying VTE prevention in hospitalized patients can use it to understand how the eleven weighted risk factors combine into a single risk category.

This calculator is strictly for informational and educational purposes and is not a substitute for a physician's clinical judgment. Decisions about starting pharmacologic thromboprophylaxis carry real tradeoffs between clotting risk and bleeding risk, and must always be made together with a qualified healthcare provider who knows the patient's complete history, never from this tool alone.

What Insights Does the Padua Score Calculator Give You?

Padua Score is the primary result, the total weighted points across all eleven risk factors selected.

VTE Risk Category translates that score into a plain-language low or high risk classification, reflecting the original validation study's threshold of 4 points for identifying patients where pharmacologic thromboprophylaxis is generally indicated.

How to use this Padua Score calculator

  1. Select Yes or No for Active Cancer.
  2. Select Yes or No for Previous VTE.
  3. Select Yes or No for Reduced Mobility (Bedrest ≥3 Days).
  4. Select Yes or No for Known Thrombophilic Condition.
  5. Select Yes or No for Recent (≤1 Month) Trauma or Surgery.
  6. Select Yes or No for Age ≥70, Heart/Respiratory Failure, Acute MI or Stroke, Acute Infection or Rheumatologic Disorder, Obesity (BMI ≥30), and Ongoing Hormonal Treatment.
  7. Review your Padua Score and VTE Risk Category, and discuss the result with the hospital care team managing thromboprophylaxis decisions.
Show formula & methodology ↓Show less ↑

Formula & Methodology

The Padua Prediction Score sums the following points:

- Active cancer: 3 points
- Previous VTE: 3 points
- Reduced mobility (bedrest ≥3 days): 3 points
- Known thrombophilic condition: 3 points
- Recent (≤1 month) trauma or surgery: 2 points
- Age ≥70: 1 point
- Heart and/or respiratory failure: 1 point
- Acute MI or ischemic stroke: 1 point
- Acute infection or rheumatologic disorder: 1 point
- Obesity (BMI ≥30): 1 point
- Ongoing hormonal treatment: 1 point

Total score = sum of all applicable points. A score ≥4 is high risk (thromboprophylaxis generally indicated); a score <4 is low risk.

Worked example: A hospitalized 74-year-old patient with reduced mobility and an acute infection scores: Reduced mobility (3 points) + Age ≥70 (1 point) + Acute infection (1 point) = 5 points total, placing them in the high-risk category where pharmacologic thromboprophylaxis is generally indicated, per the original Barbar et al. 2010 (Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis) validation study.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does the Padua Score assess?
The Padua Prediction Score assesses the risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE), meaning deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism, in hospitalized medical (non-surgical) patients. It's used to decide whether pharmacologic thromboprophylaxis, such as a blood thinner, is warranted during a hospital stay.
What counts as a high Padua Score?
A score of 4 or higher is considered high risk, at which point pharmacologic thromboprophylaxis is generally indicated unless contraindicated by bleeding risk. A score below 4 is considered low risk, where routine pharmacologic prophylaxis is generally not required.
Why do some factors count for 3 points and others only 1?
Active cancer, previous VTE, reduced mobility, and known thrombophilic conditions are each independently strong predictors of VTE, so they're weighted at 3 points each. Recent trauma or surgery is weighted at 2 points, while more general contributing factors like age, obesity, or acute infection are weighted at 1 point each, reflecting their comparatively smaller individual contribution to risk.
What counts as 'reduced mobility' in this score?
Reduced mobility generally refers to a patient being confined to bed rest with bathroom privileges (or less mobility) for at least 3 consecutive days due to their medical condition or physician's orders. It reflects a well-established VTE risk factor related to venous stasis.
What is a 'known thrombophilic condition'?
This refers to a diagnosed inherited or acquired clotting disorder, such as Factor V Leiden, antiphospholipid syndrome, or protein C/S deficiency, that increases a person's baseline tendency to form blood clots. If you're unsure whether a prior diagnosis qualifies, ask your physician rather than guessing when using this calculator.
Does this score apply to surgical patients?
The Padua Score was specifically derived and validated for hospitalized medical (non-surgical) patients. Surgical patients typically use different, procedure-specific VTE risk assessment tools, since surgery itself is a major independent VTE risk factor already captured separately in those models.
Can this calculator tell me whether I need blood thinners in the hospital?
No, this calculator is for informational and educational purposes only and simply reproduces the published Padua scoring system. Decisions about starting pharmacologic thromboprophylaxis carry real bleeding-risk tradeoffs and must always be made by your hospital care team, who can weigh your complete clinical picture, never from this tool alone.
How was the Padua Prediction Score developed?
The Padua Prediction Score was derived and validated by Barbar S, et al. and published in the Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis, 2010;8(11):2450-2457, studying VTE outcomes in hospitalized medical patients. It has since been widely adopted and referenced in VTE prevention guidelines for hospitalized patients.
Should bleeding risk also be checked before starting prophylaxis?
Yes, many hospitals pair a VTE risk assessment like the Padua Score with a bleeding-risk assessment (such as the IMPROVE bleeding risk model or, in patients already on anticoagulation, tools like the [HAS-BLED Calculator](/has-bled-calculator/)) before deciding on pharmacologic prophylaxis. Both risks are weighed together by the care team.
How does this relate to the PERC Calculator in this same tool set?
The [PERC Calculator](/perc-calculator/) is used to help rule out pulmonary embolism in a patient who already has a low pretest probability of PE presenting with symptoms, while the Padua Score is used proactively in hospitalized medical patients without current PE symptoms to decide on preventive anticoagulation. They address different clinical scenarios.
Is atrial fibrillation stroke risk related to VTE risk?
They are different clotting-related risk assessments, atrial fibrillation stroke risk (see the [CHA2DS2-VASc Calculator](/cha2ds2-vasc-calculator/)) concerns clot formation in the heart leading to stroke, while VTE risk concerns clots forming in the veins, most often in the legs. Both may coexist in a hospitalized patient but are assessed with separate tools.
What happens if my Padua Score is low?
A low score (under 4) generally means routine pharmacologic thromboprophylaxis is not indicated, though your care team may still recommend mechanical measures like compression stockings or encourage early mobilization as general preventive steps.
Also known as
Padua Prediction Score calculatorVTE risk score calculatorhospitalized patient thromboprophylaxis calculatorvenous thromboembolism risk calculatorDVT risk score calculator