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BTS Publishes New Quality Standards for Outpatient Management of Pulmonary Embolism

The British Thoracic Society (BTS) has published an update to the 2018 guideline for the initial outpatient management of pulmonary embolism (PE).

New quality standards have been applied to the guideline to allow health care practitioners to base their clinical decisions on the latest evidence and best practice.

The standards, in brief, are:

  • Computed tomography pulmonary angiography should be performed within 24 hours of presentation in patients who are managed via an outpatient pathway and do not have contraindications for contrast imaging.
  • All patients with confirmed acute PE or on an outpatient pathway for suspected acute PE should have their clinical risk assessed, including the use of a validated risk score (PE severity index [PESI], simplified PESI and Hestia).
  • Outpatient management should be offered to all patients with suspected or confirmed acute PE who satisfy clinical risk and exclusion criteria. All patients managed via an outpatient PE pathway should be reviewed by a senior clinical decision-maker prior to going home.
  • All patients managed via an outpatient PE pathway should receive verbal and written information containing details of potential complications of the disease process, its treatment and a point of contact.
  • Patients undergoing outpatient management following diagnosis of an acute PE should have an initial review within seven days of discharge. Subsequent follow-up by a senior clinician with a special interest in PE should take place within a formal pathway.

BMJ Open Respir Res. Published online August 18, 2020. Full text

References: Condliffe R, Albert P, Alikhan R, Gee E, Horner D, Hunter L, Jacobs P, Limbrey R, Newnham M, Preston W, Patel S, Smith LJ, Suntharalingam J. British Thoracic Society Quality Standards for outpatient management of pulmonary embolism. BMJ Open Respir Res. 2020;7(1). doi: 10.1136/bmjresp-2020-000636. PMID: 32816797

This article originally appeared on Univadis, part of the Medscape Professional Network.

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