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The first Australasian guidelines for the diagnosis and management of venous thromboembolism (VTE) have been released.


Led by the Australian Centre for Blood Diseases, a working group from the Thrombosis and Haemostasis Society of Australia and New Zealand developed the guidelines.

VTE, which includes deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE), is the third most common cardiovascular disease globally, with an annual incidence of over 10 million.

According to lead researcher Associate Professor Huyen Tran, in Australia, ate least 17,000 people develop VTE each year.

“This is a major cause of health related economic loss for the patient and the community (estimated to be 1.7% billion for Australia in 2008). It is a chronic and frequently recurrent disease.”

The major recommendations made through the guidelines was the use of Xa inhibitor, such as rivaroxaban or apixaban rather than warfarin for the treatment of acute VTE.

The study was published in the MJA and details on the recommendations can be found here