Thrombus - 2008

Harmonisation of D-dimers to predict DVT
Chris Gardiner
pp 1-3
The increased availability of non-invasive imaging techniques and the reduced tolerance for diagnostic uncertainty have resulted in the use of diagnostic imaging in a greater number of patients with suspected deep vein thrombosis (DVT). As a result, the proportion of patients with suspected DVT who have a thrombus confirmed by objective testing has fallen to 15–25%. This has cost and workload implications, so a non-invasive, inexpensive screening test is desirable.

Comment: Implementing thromboprophylaxis – the cost
Peter Rose
pp 2-2
Compliance with recommendations for assessment of all hospital inpatients for thromboprophylaxis comes at an additional cost to the hospital service. Extended thromboprophylaxis (ET) with low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) for an additional three weeks for elective hip replacements, hip fractures and other related high-risk surgical patients, as recommended by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), needs to be carefully costed.

The burden of venous thromboembolic disease in medical patients
Victoria Drought and David Parr
pp 4-5
Venous thromboembolism (VTE) contracted in hospital causes between 25,000 and 32,000 deaths in the UK every year and is the leading cause of death in approximately 10% of deaths in hospital. This is over 25 times the mortality related to Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and exceeds the mortality from breast cancer, HIV and traffic accidents combined.

Thrombin generation: a global screening test of haemostasis?
Roger J Luddington
pp 6-7
The prothrombin time (PT) and activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), which form the backbone of laboratory screening for procoagulant deficiency in haemostasis, have remained largely unchanged for the past 40 years. Recently, the use of these nonphysiologically triggered assays has been questioned.

Update on point-of-care devices for international normalised ratio testing
Ellen Murray and Ian Jennings
pp 9-11
Point-of-care (POC) tests are currently used by a large number of nonhealthcare scientists, including GPs, nurses, pharmacists and phlebotomists, as well as by patients who self-monitor their medical condition. Technological advances and miniaturisation of analysers have led to a large expansion of potential POC tests.

Spring 2008, Volume 12 Number 1

Thrombus was previously supported by Bayer from 2014 to 2016, by Boehringer Ingelheim from 2009 to 2013, by sanofi-aventis from 2007 to 2008 and by Leo Pharma from 1998 to 2006.

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ISSN 1369-8117 (Print) ISSN 2045-7855 (Online)