PMID- 15767978
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20050809
LR  - 20220330
IS  - 0392-9590 (Print)
IS  - 0392-9590 (Linking)
VI  - 23
IP  - 4
DP  - 2004 Dec
TI  - Outpatient treatment of venous thromboembolism using low molecular weight 
      heparins. An overview.
PG  - 305-16
AB  - The development of low-molecular-weight heparins (LMWHs) was a significant 
      advance in the treatment of venous thromboembolism (VTE). Their better 
      bioavailability and more predictable anticoagulant activity than unfractionated 
      heparin (UFH) allow subcutaneous administration without close laboratory 
      monitoring, and thus make outpatient treatment of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) 
      feasible. The safety and efficacy of outpatient treatment in selected patients 
      were established in randomized clinical trials comparing subcutaneous LMWH 
      administered primarily at home with inpatient intravenous UFH. Furthermore, 
      during the last few years a large number of studies have supported these findings 
      in various clinical settings of every-day practice. It is also important that 
      home treatment has lead to substantial cost reductions along with improvement in 
      patients' satisfaction and quality of life. Thus, outpatient treatment of DVT 
      provides an opportunity, rarely seen in medicine, to improve patient care while 
      reducing the overall VTE health-care cost, and it is likely that will be the 
      preferred regime for the majority of patients in the future. However, the 
      implementation of a home treatment program is not simple, as the risks of 
      insufficient or excessive anticoagulation would be considerable. A structured 
      protocol is necessary to ensure that patient care is optimal, and the keys to a 
      successful outpatient treatment program are patient selection, patient education, 
      patient access to health care team, appropriate follow-up and health care team 
      communication.
FAU - Matsagas, M I
AU  - Matsagas MI
AD  - Vascular Surgery Unit, Department of Surgery, School of Medicine, University of 
      Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece. mimats@cc.uoi.gr
LA  - eng
PT  - Journal Article
PT  - Review
PL  - Italy
TA  - Int Angiol
JT  - International angiology : a journal of the International Union of Angiology
JID - 8402693
RN  - 0 (Anticoagulants)
RN  - 0 (Heparin, Low-Molecular-Weight)
SB  - IM
MH  - Anticoagulants/administration & dosage/*therapeutic use
MH  - Heparin, Low-Molecular-Weight/administration & dosage/*therapeutic use
MH  - Humans
MH  - Injections, Subcutaneous
MH  - Outpatients
MH  - Safety
MH  - Treatment Outcome
MH  - Venous Thrombosis/*drug therapy
RF  - 68
EDAT- 2005/03/16 09:00
MHDA- 2005/08/10 09:00
CRDT- 2005/03/16 09:00
PHST- 2005/03/16 09:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2005/08/10 09:00 [medline]
PHST- 2005/03/16 09:00 [entrez]
PST - ppublish
SO  - Int Angiol. 2004 Dec;23(4):305-16.