Update on diagnosis and anticoagulant therapy for venous thromboembolism

Hannah Stevens; Huyen Tran

doi:10.1111/imj.14063

Update on diagnosis and anticoagulant therapy for venous thromboembolism

Intern Med J. 2018 Oct;48(10):1175-1184. doi: 10.1111/imj.14063.

Authors

Hannah Stevens^{1

2

3}, Huyen Tran^{1

2

3}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Haematology, Alfred Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
² Haemostasis and Thrombosis Unit, Alfred Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
³ Australian Centre for Blood Diseases, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

PMID: 30288893
DOI: 10.1111/imj.14063

Abstract

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) continues to be a common medical problem requiring the need for rapid treatment with anticoagulant therapy. Until the recent availability of the direct oral anticoagulants for treatment of VTE, the option for oral anticoagulation was limited to warfarin therapy. The addition of these new medications has been welcomed, but has led to added complexities in deciding the most appropriate agent for each patient based on individual risk factors. Furthermore, there are several circumstances where optimal duration of therapy is not well established. This article will focus on the diagnosis of VTE, the choice of anticoagulant and treatment duration.

Keywords: anticoagulation; deep vein thrombosis; direct oral anticoagulants; pulmonary embolism; venous thromboembolism.

MeSH terms

Anticoagulants / therapeutic use*
Evidence-Based Medicine
Heparin, Low-Molecular-Weight / therapeutic use*
Humans
Practice Guidelines as Topic
Risk Factors
Secondary Prevention / methods
Venous Thromboembolism / diagnosis*
Venous Thromboembolism / drug therapy*
Venous Thromboembolism / etiology
Warfarin / therapeutic use*

Substances

Anticoagulants
Heparin, Low-Molecular-Weight
Warfarin