Venous thromboembolism

• Book ID: 102338651
• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2006
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 35 KB
• Volume: 1
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1553-5592
• DOI: 10.1002/jhm.32

✦ Synopsis

Venous thromboembolism (VTE), or clotting within the venous system, is a common and under-recognized cause of significant preventable morbidity and mortality in hospitalized patients. VTE includes deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolus (PE). The American Heart Association states that first VTE occurs in roughly 100 patients per 100,000 each year. Of these, one-third have pulmonary embolism. Thirty percent of the 200,000 new cases of VTE annually die within three days, and one-fifth die suddenly due to pulmonary embolus. DVT accounts for approximately 8,000 hospital discharges per year, while PE accounts for almost 100,000 discharges. Hospitalists can lead their institutions in the development of screening and prevention protocols for patients at risk for VTE, and in the promotion of early diagnosis and safe approaches to the treatment of VTE. Hospitalists can also develop strategies to operationalize cost-effective programs that will improve patient outcomes and reduce the economic burden of VTE.