Thrombosis research
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Thrombosis research · Jan 2006
Multicenter StudyEffect of patient location on the performance of clinical models to predict pulmonary embolism.
Current clinical likelihood models for predicting pulmonary embolism (PE) are used to categorize outpatients into low, intermediate and high clinical pre-test likelihood of PE. Since these clinical prediction rules were developed using outpatients it is not known if they can be applied universally to both inpatients and outpatients with suspected PE. Thus, the purpose of this study was to determine the effect of patient location on the performance of clinical models to predict PE. ⋯ Current clinical prediction rules for determining the pre-test likelihood of PE yielded different diagnostic performances depending upon patient location. The performance of the clinical prediction rules decreased significantly when applied to inpatients. In particular, the rules performed least well when applied to patients referred from surgical wards suggesting these rules should not be used in this patient group. As expected the clinical prediction rules performed best in outpatients with the optimum diagnostic performance in patients referred from emergency and outpatient wards.
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Thrombosis research · Jan 2006
Accuracy of coding for possible warfarin complications in hospital discharge abstracts.
Hospital discharge abstracts could be used to identify complications of warfarin if coding for bleeding and thromboembolic events are accurate. ⋯ In our centre, the discharge abstract could be used to identify and exclude patients hospitalized with a major bleed or thromboembolism. If coding quality for bleeding is similar in other hospitals, these ICD-9-CM diagnostic codes could be used to study population-based warfarin-associated hemorrhagic complications using administrative databases.
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Thrombosis research · Jan 2006
ReviewEpidemiology of venous thromboembolism in neonates and children.
Venous thromboembolism is an increasingly recognised problem in paediatric practice, particularly in the context of tertiary care paediatric services. In recent years, several national and international registries have helped to define the epidemiology of venous thromboembolism in both neonates and older children. These studies have generated information on the incidence and risk factors associated with venous thromboembolism in different age groups. Data from these and other studies have demonstrated important differences between paediatric and adult practice and highlight the need for specific evidence based guidelines for the prevention and management of venous thromboembolism in neonates and children.
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Thrombosis research · Jan 2006
Comparative StudyExcluding pulmonary embolism at the bedside with low pre-test probability and D-dimer: safety and clinical utility of 4 methods to assign pre-test probability.
Less than 35% of patients suspected of having pulmonary embolism (PE) actually have PE. Safe bedside methods to exclude PE could save scarce health care resources if they exclude large proportions of patients with suspected PE and are widely applicable. Non-Elisa D-dimer in combination with pre-test probability of suspected PE can safely exclude PE at the bedside. Pre-test probability can be assigned by gestalt or by using clinical models (Wells, Wicki, Rodger). ⋯ Semi-quantitative D-dimer must be combined with safe clinical probability assessment to safely exclude PE in a significant proportion of patients. Wicki's model in association with semi-quantitative D-dimer has the lowest sensitivity and should be used carefully to exclude PE at the bedside. The Wells' model with a cutoff of less than 2 points when combined with semi-quantitative D-dimer excluded very few patients and therefore limits its clinical utility.
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Thrombosis research · Jan 2006
Comparative StudyResults of a systematic evaluation of treatment outcomes for heparin-induced thrombocytopenia in patients receiving danaparoid, ancrod, and/or coumarin explain the rapid shift in clinical practice during the 1990s.
Randomized controlled trials evaluating treatment of acute, transient, but uncommon diseases are difficult to perform. The prothrombotic adverse drug reaction, heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT), is such an example. During the mid-1980s, the defibrinogenating snake venom, ancrod (+/-warfarin, Canada), or coumarin (warfarin, Canada; phenprocoumon, Germany) alone, were often used to treat HIT. During the 1990s, danaparoid+/-coumarin began to replace ancrod (+/-coumarin), or coumarin alone, for treating HIT, despite danaparoid not being approved for treatment of HIT. ⋯ The replacement of ancrod+/-coumarin, or coumarin alone, by danaparoid (+/-coumarin) in the mid-1990s for the treatment of HIT was justified by improved efficacy and safety.