CASE A 35 yo woman presents with a painful blue swollen leg, that occurred rapidly, the evening before. There is little relevant past history and the patient is on the oral contraceptive pill. Examination reveals a dusky, blue left leg, that is swollen in comparison to the other side. Pulses are present and the patient in neurologically…
The American College of Chest Physicians has just produced a treatment guideline for venous thromboembolism(VTE) and Pulmonary Embolism(PE). The primary push in this guideline is for the use of non-vitamin K oral anticoagulants over warfarin. Here is a brief summary DEEP VENOUS THROMBOSIS (DVT) Isolated DVT with no severe symptoms or risk factors: suggest serial…
Deep Venous Thrombosis(DVT) occurs in approximately 1-2 per 1000 of the population. Our great concern is not the DVT as such, but the potential for other sequelae, especially a pulmonary embolism. What I see and what I’m also guilty of, on several occasions is that these patients are simply sent to ultrasound and we don’t…
Patients presenting to the Emergency Department with signs or symptoms which might be indicative of a DVT or pulmonary embolism in the postpartum period are treated with increased suspicion because there is in fact an increased risk. HOW LONG DOES THIS INCREASED RISK LAST FOR? The postpartum period is defined as 6 weeks following delivery. …
