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Highlights of the American Society of Hematology Meeting 2013: hemostaseology

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Abstract

Venous thromboembolism is associated with substantial morbidity and mortality. Furthermore, the subsequently indicated anticoagulation treatment puts the patient at risk of possible bleeding complications. Therefore, improving treatment strategies as well as diagnostic approaches can optimize patient care. During the 55th Annual Meeting 2013 of the American Society of Hematology the Choosing Wisely® campaign was presented. An expert committee recommends against the test for thrombophilia after venous thromboembolism occurring in the setting of major transient risk factors to avoid over treatment in these patients. Other presentations focused on the use of the direct oral anticoagulants in patients with cancer-associated thromboembolism. However, specific studies comparing direct oral anticoagulants with the state-of the art treatment with low molecular heparins in cancer-associated thromboembolism are still missing. Finally, age-adjusted cut-off levels can increase the specificity of D-Dimer in older patients. Consequently, using clinical probability assessment in the combination with age-adjusted D-dimer cut-off levels may be associated with a larger number of patients in whom pulmonary embolism can be ruled out.

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Abbreviations

ASH:

American Society of Hematology

DOAC:

Direct oral anticoagulant

LMWH:

Low-molecular-weight heparin

UFH:

Unfractionated heparin

VKA:

Vitamin K antagonist

VTE:

Venous thromboembolism

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Take-home message

Thrombophilia screening should be used carefully to avoid overtreatment and, subsequently, possible harm in patients. Furthermore, the use of age-adjusted D-dimer cut-off levels in combination with clinical probability assessment may help to rule out PE.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Internal Medicine V—Hematology and Oncology, Medical University of Innsbruck, Anichstrasse 35, 6020, Innsbruck, Austria

    Clemens Feistritzer MD & Sophie Maria Wildner MD

Authors
  1. Clemens Feistritzer MD
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  2. Sophie Maria Wildner MD
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Correspondence to Clemens Feistritzer MD.

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Feistritzer, C., Wildner, S. Highlights of the American Society of Hematology Meeting 2013: hemostaseology. memo 7, 126–129 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12254-014-0157-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12254-014-0157-5

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