New Guidelines for Thromboembolism Issued

**deena** · Number of posts: 112 Registration date: 2006-12-09

[b]New Guidelines for Thromboembolism Issued [/b]

http://www.zshare.net/download/management-of-venous-thromboembolism-doc.html

There are new guidelines for venous thromboembolism.

Issued jointly by the American Academy of Family Physicians and the American College of Physicians, the guidelines include the following recommendations:

-- Use validated prediction rules (such as the Wells prediction rules) to estimate pretest probabilities of disease.

-- In patients with low pretest probabilities, use a D-dimer test to rule out deep-venous thrombosis and pulmonary embolism.

-- Use ultrasound to investigate those with intermediate to high pretest probabilities of deep-venous thrombosis in lower extremities.

-- In suspected pulmonary embolism, patients with intermediate or high pretest probabilities of disease require imaging studies.

-- Use low-molecular-weight heparin for the initial inpatient treatment of deep venous thrombosis (either unfractionated or low-molecular-weight forms may be used for pulmonary embolism).

-- Outpatient treatment of deep venous thrombosis (and possibly pulmonary embolism) with low-molecular-weight heparin is safe for selected patients.

-- Use compression stockings within a month of diagnosis and continue for at least a year