Abstract | PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Acute pulmonary embolism is a common, life-threatening, cardiopulmonary disorder with a high mortality rate within the first 3 months of diagnosis. As prompt anticoagulation is the mainstay of therapy in patients with pulmonary embolism, the clinical utility and cost effectiveness of systemic thrombolysis is debated. RECENT FINDINGS: SUMMARY: Current evidence does not support the use of thrombolytic agents in most hemodynamically stable patients with right ventricular dysfunction. However, improved methods of risk stratification may help to identify subgroups of patients at high risk of death that might benefit from systemic thrombolysis.
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Authors | Roham T Zamanian, Michael K Gould |
Journal | Current opinion in pulmonary medicine
(Curr Opin Pulm Med)
Vol. 14
Issue 5
Pg. 422-6
(Sep 2008)
ISSN: 1531-6971 [Electronic] United States |
PMID | 18664972
(Publication Type: Journal Article, Review)
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Chemical References |
- Fibrinolytic Agents
- Heparin
- Tissue Plasminogen Activator
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Topics |
- Acute Disease
- Cost-Benefit Analysis
- Fibrinolytic Agents
(economics, therapeutic use)
- Heparin
(economics, therapeutic use)
- Humans
- Pulmonary Embolism
(drug therapy, economics)
- Risk Assessment
- Thrombolytic Therapy
(economics)
- Tissue Plasminogen Activator
(economics, therapeutic use)
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