Venous thromboembolism: Diagnosis, treatment and the prevention of long-term complications

Abstract

Venous thromboembolism encompasses a wide spectrum of illness, including deep venous thrombosis and pulmonary embolism. Appropriate recognition and treatment is critical to preventing serious recurrent thromboembolism events. Use of clinical prediction tools, such as the modified Well׳s criteria, is critical to rapid and efficient diagnosis of venous thromboembolism. Similarly, use of clinical prediction tools can help to identify patients for whom thromboembolism recurrence necessitates extended anticoagulation therapy. Choosing an appropriate anticoagulant for the acute management and potential extended therapy requires assessing patient and physician preferences given the recent expansion of treatment choices. In this document, we review the spectrum of disease as well as guideline-based recommendations for diagnosis and management of venous thromboembolism.