International angiology : a journal of the International Union of Angiology
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Review Practice Guideline
Asian venous thromboembolism guidelines: prevention of venous thromboembolism.
Venous thromboembolism (VTE) prophylaxis is under-utilized in Asia because of the misconception that its incidence is lower in Asians as compared to the Caucasians. The available data on VTE in Asia is limited due to the lack of well-designed multicenter randomized controlled trials as well as non-standardized research designs, making data comparison difficult. Emerging data indicates that the VTE incidence is not low in Asia, and is comparable to that reported in the Western literature in some instances. ⋯ For patients undergoing major orthopedic surgeries like total hip replacement, total knee replacement and proximal hip fracture surgery, we recommend using one of the following: LMWH, fondaparinux, rivaroxaban, apixaban, edoxaban, dabigatran, warfarin or aspirin with IPC. For patients admitted to the hospital with acute medical illness and has moderate risk of VTE, we recommend prophylaxis with LDUH, LMWH or Fondaparinux. For the same group at high risk of VTE, we recommend combination of pharmacological and mechanical prophylaxis.
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Multicenter Study
A survey of contemporary opinions and practices of surgical and intensive care specialists towards peri-operative venous thromboembolism prophylaxis in Asia.
This survey was conducted to determine the opinions and practices of peri-operative venous thromboembolism (VTE) prophylaxis among surgical and intensive care specialists in Asia. ⋯ Despite the availability of strong epidemiological data, randomized controlled trials and multicentre case-controlled studies, perioperative VTE prophylactic practices are still suboptimal in Asia.
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Comparative Study
Contrast enhanced ultrasound in atherosclerotic carotid artery disease.
The traditional morphological parameters for the description of a carotid atherosclerotic plaque (degree of stenosis, echogenicity, systolic peak velocity etc.) are insufficient for the prediction of the risk of embolization. Contrast enhanced ultrasound (CEUS), based on the theory of inflammation and neoangiogenesis, seems to have a great potential for the detection of unstable plaques. The purpose of our work was to compare echogenicity of the plaque (evaluated with the Grey Scale Median; GSM), the degree of stenosis and CEUS with the histopathological findings. ⋯ The study confirms that in vitro neoangiogenesis, contrast enhancement and stability of the plaque are strongly connected and CEUS appears to be one of the most promising tools for the stratification of the carotid plaque vulnerability.