PMID- 21162604
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20110331
LR  - 20220321
IS  - 1179-1950 (Electronic)
IS  - 0012-6667 (Linking)
VI  - 70 Suppl 2
DP  - 2010 Dec 14
TI  - Overview of venous thromboembolism.
PG  - 3-10
LID - 10.2165/1158583-S0-000000000-00000 [doi]
AB  - Thrombosis occurs at sites of injury to the vessel wall, by inflammatory 
      processes leading to activation of platelets, platelet adherence to the vessel 
      wall and the formation of a fibrin network. A thrombus that goes on to occlude a 
      blood vessel is known as a thromboembolism. Venous thromboembolism begins with 
      deep vein thrombosis (DVT), which forms in the deep veins of the leg (calf) or 
      pelvis. In some cases, the DVT becomes detached from the vein and is transported 
      to the right-hand side of the heart, and from there to the pulmonary arteries, 
      giving rise to a pulmonary embolism (PE). Certain factors predispose patients 
      toward the development of venous thromboembolism (VTE), including surgery, 
      trauma, hospitalization, immobilization, cancer, long-haul travel, increased age, 
      obesity, major medical illness and previous VTE; in addition, there may also be a 
      genetic component to VTE. VTE is responsible for a substantial number of deaths 
      per annum in Europe. Anticoagulants are the mainstay of both VTE treatment and 
      VTE prevention, and many professional organizations have published guidelines on 
      the appropriate use of anticoagulant therapies for VTE. Treatment of VTE aims to 
      prevent morbidity and mortality associated with the disease, and any long-term 
      complications such as VTE recurrence or post-thrombotic syndrome. Generally, 
      guidelines recommend the use of low molecular weight heparins (LMWH), 
      unfractionated heparin (UFH) or fondaparinux for the pharmacological prevention 
      and treatment of VTE, with the duration of therapy varying according to the 
      baseline characteristics and risk profile of the individual. Despite evidence 
      showing that the use of anticoagulation prevents VTE, the availability of several 
      convenient, effective anticoagulant therapies and the existence of clear 
      guideline recommendations, thromboprophylaxis is underused, particularly in 
      patients not undergoing surgery. Greater adherence to guideline-recommended 
      therapies, such as LMWH, which can be administered on an outpatient basis, should 
      reduce the mortality associated with this preventable disease.
FAU - Abad Rico, Jose Ignacio
AU  - Abad Rico JI
AD  - Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgery Department, Carlos Haya Regional University 
      Hospital, Malaga, Spain.
FAU - Llau Pitarch, Juan Vicente
AU  - Llau Pitarch JV
FAU - Rocha, Eduardo
AU  - Rocha E
LA  - eng
PT  - Journal Article
PT  - Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
PT  - Review
PL  - New Zealand
TA  - Drugs
JT  - Drugs
JID - 7600076
RN  - 0 (Anticoagulants)
SB  - IM
MH  - Anticoagulants/therapeutic use
MH  - Humans
MH  - Practice Guidelines as Topic
MH  - Risk Factors
MH  - Societies, Medical
MH  - United States
MH  - Venous Thromboembolism/diagnosis/*drug therapy/epidemiology/*prevention & control
EDAT- 2010/12/18 06:00
MHDA- 2011/04/01 06:00
CRDT- 2010/12/18 06:00
PHST- 2010/12/18 06:00 [entrez]
PHST- 2010/12/18 06:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2011/04/01 06:00 [medline]
AID - 4 [pii]
AID - 10.2165/1158583-S0-000000000-00000 [doi]
PST - ppublish
SO  - Drugs. 2010 Dec 14;70 Suppl 2:3-10. doi: 10.2165/1158583-S0-000000000-00000.