Thrombosis research
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Thrombosis research · Dec 2016
LetterStability of direct oral anticoagulants in whole blood and plasma from patients in steady state treatment.
Using functional haemostasis assays, we demonstrated important differences in stability of direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) in citrated whole blood and plasma from DOAC treated patients. Laboratories and clinicians should take this into consideration and adjust clinical practices accordingly.
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Thrombosis research · Dec 2016
Risk stratifying emergency department patients with acute pulmonary embolism: Does the simplified Pulmonary Embolism Severity Index perform as well as the original?
The Pulmonary Embolism Severity Index (PESI) is a validated prognostic score to estimate the 30-day mortality of emergency department (ED) patients with acute pulmonary embolism (PE). A simplified version (sPESI) was derived but has not been as well studied in the U.S. We sought to validate both indices in a community hospital setting in the U.S. and compare their performance in predicting 30-day all-cause mortality and classification of cases into low-risk and higher-risk categories. ⋯ Both indices identified patients with PE who were at low risk for 30-day mortality. The sPESI, however, misclassified a significant number of low-mortality patients as higher risk, which could lead to unnecessary hospitalizations.