New Guidelines Issued for Venous Thromboembolism - CME Teaching Brief - MedPage Today
KANSAS CITY, Jan 29 -- New clinical-practice guidelines for the diagnosis and management of venous thromboembolism in primary care were released jointly by the American Academy of Family Physicians here and the American College of Physicians.
Key elements of the diagnostic guidelines include the use of clinical-prediction rules to establish the probability of deep venous thrombosis or pulmonary embolism prior to further testing.
The management guidelines support the use of low-molecular-weight heparin for patients with lower-extremity deep vein thrombosis in an outpatient setting, provided appropriate support services are in place.
Action Points
* Explain to interested patients that the newly released diagnostic guidelines for diagnosis of venous thromboembolism recommend the use of pretesting (with the Wells prediction rules) to determine the probability of DVT or pulmonary embolism before starting further testing.
* Be aware that the management guidelines support the use of low-molecular-weight heparin for patients with lower-extremity deep vein thrombosis in an outpatient setting, provided appropriate support services are available.
The guidelines, as well as a companion diagnostic-evidence review, were published online and in the January-February issue of the Annals of Family Medicine. They will also be published in the Feb. 6, 2007, issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.
Posted by gruwell at January 29, 2007 9:29 PM | TrackBack