Venous Thromboembolism: Diagnosis and Treatment of Humans (Virtual Presenter)

I will discuss standard diagnostic workup of a patient with suspected DVT or PE, explaining the diagnostic pathways using a clinical pretest probability assessment, D-dimer testing, and radiologic imaging studies (venous Doppler ultrasound, lung DT scan, lung ventilation/perfusion scan). I will discuss the pros and cons of the different anticoagulants (DOAC, LMWH, warfarin) when treating a patient with DVT or PE, with particular reference to choice of drug and dosing regimen in patients with renal impairment, severe obesity, liver disease, and antiphospholipid syndrome). I will provide a framework – the ‘DVT recurrence triangle’ - how to think about how long to treat a patient with DVT or PE with anticoagulation. I will discussion which patient to consider thrombophilia testing and how results are used for clinical decision making on length of anticoagulation. Finally, I will provide a handout of my “22 Teaching Points: How to Approach the Human Patient with Venous Thromboembolism”.