Via practica 6/2011

Current trends in therapeutic approaches for venous thromboembolism in outpatient practice

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a descriptive term for a variety of expressions of isolated or more than one organ thrombosis partial or total obstructed blood vessel inside. Typically it is manifested in the deep veins of the legs (DVT) and/or pulmonary embolism (PE), but often we are presented with venous thrombosis in atypical locations (upper extremities, jugularis thrombosis, intra-abdominal, cerebral). We often witness the current incidence of DVT in patients with a relatively „benig – superficial thrombophlebitis”. VTE thus belongs to the so-called systemic disease, not once debilitating and even life threatening. Since the last issue if guidelines ACCP in 2008 (American College of Chest Physicians Evidence-Based Clinical Pracitce-Guidelines) we are confronted with lots of information on the theme of VTE, published in professional conferences and in various journals. The authors in their contribution provide a brief overview of the „news“ in the prevention and treatment of VTE focusing exclusively on outpatient sector. Information such as who, when, how long to heal, take has enormous importance nowadays.

Keywords: venous thromboembolism, incidency, prophylaxis, duration of treatment, home treatment, CoaguChek