Seminars in respiratory and critical care medicine
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Semin Respir Crit Care Med · Feb 2017
ReviewApproach to Suspected Acute Pulmonary Embolism: Should We Use Scoring Systems?
Modern diagnostic strategies for pulmonary embolism diagnosis almost all rely on an initial assessment of the pretest probability. Clinical prediction rules are decision-making tools using combinations of easily available clinical predictors to define the probability of a disease. ⋯ They should be derived and validated following strict methodological standards. The use of clinical prediction rules should be encouraged, since their implementation in local guidelines for pulmonary embolism diagnosis has been shown to improve patients' outcomes.
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Semin Respir Crit Care Med · Feb 2017
ReviewAcute Pulmonary Embolism after Discharge: Duration of Therapy and Follow-up Testing.
Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a frequent cause of death and serious disability with a risk extending far beyond the acute phase of the disease. Anticoagulant treatment reduces the risk for death and recurrent VTE after a first PE. The optimal duration of anticoagulation after a first episode of PE remains controversial and should be made on an individual basis, balancing the estimated risk for recurrence without anticoagulant treatment against bleeding risk under anticoagulation. ⋯ If the favorable safety profile of direct oral anticoagulants from clinical trials would be confirmed in real-life, extension of anticoagulation could be reconsidered in large proportions of patients after an unprovoked PE. The most feared late sequela of PE is chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension. Although there has been progress in both the diagnosis and management of this disease in recent years, further data are needed to provide recommendations regarding long-term follow-up after PE.
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Semin Respir Crit Care Med · Feb 2017
ReviewInferior Vena Cava Filters: When to Place and When to Remove.
Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a common and feared result of deep vein thrombosis. While anticoagulation is the mainstay of management, interruption of flow of thrombus from leg veins to the pulmonary circulation is frequently desired either in lieu of or in addition to anticoagulation. Inferior vena cava filters have become frequently used to prevent PE despite a paucity of evidence for efficacy and increasing concerns about the long-term complications of indwelling filters.
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Semin Respir Crit Care Med · Feb 2017
ReviewReversal of Direct Oral Anticoagulants: Current Status and Future Directions.
Direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) are increasingly used for prevention and treatment of venous thromboembolism and for prevention of stroke in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation. In phase III clinical trials that included more than 100,000 patients, the DOACs were at least as effective as vitamin K antagonists (VKAs) and were associated with less serious bleeding, particularly less intracranial bleeding. Real-world evidence supports these outcomes. ⋯ Anticoagulant reversal should only be considered with life-threatening bleeds, with bleeds that fail to respond to usual measures and in patients requiring urgent surgery. Idarucizumab is licensed for dabigatran reversal and andexanet alfa is likely to be soon licensed for reversal of rivaroxaban, apixaban, and edoxaban. To ensure responsible use of these agents, every hospital needs a bleeding management algorithm that identifies patients eligible for reversal and outlines appropriate dosing regimens.
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Semin Respir Crit Care Med · Feb 2017
ReviewSystemic Thrombolytic Therapy for Acute Pulmonary Embolism: Who Is a Candidate?
Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a major cause of both acute and long-term morbidity for a large number of patients worldwide, and massive PE is frequently fatal. Right ventricular (RV) dysfunction is a key determinant of prognosis in the acute phase of PE. Patients with clinically overt RV failure, that is, with cardiogenic shock or persistent hypotension at presentation (acute high-risk PE), are clearly in need of immediate reperfusion treatment with systemic thrombolysis or, alternatively, surgical or catheter-directed techniques. ⋯ Thus, current guidelines agree in proposing a strategy of effective anticoagulation and "watchful waiting" (with initial hemodynamic monitoring notably over the first 48-72 hours) in intermediate-risk PE, with an indication for rescue thrombolysis if signs of hemodynamic decompensation appear. Recently published trials suggest that catheter-directed, ultrasound-assisted, low-dose local fibrinolysis may provide an effective and particularly safe treatment option for some of these patients. Ongoing or planned studies are expected to resolve the controversy on the efficacy and safety or reduced-dose systemic thrombolysis and to address the possible impact of thrombolytic therapy on long-term outcomes after acute PE.