Aim: To analyze treatment at discharge/follow-up of patients diagnosed with venous thromboembolism (VTE) in the emergency department (ED).
Materials & methods: Ambispective study (50 Spanish centers) of consecutive patients (October-December 2014) with VTE diagnosed in ED.
Results: VTE was diagnosed in 775 patients (295 pulmonary embolism [PE] without deep vein thrombosis [DVT], 389 DVT without PE and 91 PE + DVT); 95.5% received anticoagulants (90.7% low-molecular-weight heparin [LMWH], 4% LMWH + vitamin K antagonists and <1% direct oral anticoagulants). Overall, 23.3% were discharged from ED and 74.5% hospitalized (98.6% with PE and 50.4% with DVT). After discharge/90/180 days, 43.6/21.0/13.5% were taking LMWH, with similar rates in nononcologic patients.
Conclusion: There is a poor adherence to international guidelines in management of VTE patients in Spain.
Keywords: deep vein thrombosis; direct oral anticoagulants; emergency department; low-molecular-weight heparin; pulmonary embolism; venous thromboembolism; vitamin K antagonists.