Venous Thromboembolism Evidence-Based Atlas

This atlas is based on case studies gleaned from a 20 year experience in a large thromboembolism program. These real cases are summarized in a standardized fashion, presenting the clinical presentation, investigations, treatment, outcome and a summary paragraph indicating the significant teaching points. The cases were selected to illustrate different presentations of venous thromboembolism (primarily pulmonary embolism) to correlate the clinical presentation with the various investigations, and to present visual material which highlights the advantages and disadvantages of the various investigative approaches. The chapters were compiled by an international panel of experts, providing the reader with concise, up-to-date reviews of the various topics. This book is presented in an atlas format, in order to enhance the quality of the reproductions. For ease of reading, the case summaries are presented on the left hand page, with the illustrations beginning on the opposite page with the chest x-ray, followed by lung scan, pulmonary angiography and venograms where they apply. To assist with the interpretation of lung scans, the editors provide a copy of a lung map which is particularly useful in identifying subsegmental or segmental defects and has been shown to significantly decrease interobserver variability. Venous thromboembolism is a multidisciplinary field, thus this book will be of interest to a wide variety of practitioners, including primary care physicians, specialists in internal medicine, pulmonary medicine, cardiology, hematology, intensive care, as well as a number of surgical specialties, including orthopedic surgery, neurosurgery and general surgery. This book is a comprehensive review of venous thromboembolism written by experts in the field. All recommendations for treatment or for diagnostic tests are supported by critical appraisal using evidence-based medicine. Each chapter is to be followed by a brief summary of the level of evidence for recommendations so that the reader can immediately separate out recommendations that are based on firm scientific grounds as opposed to those that are supported by weak evidence such as cohort studies with historic controls or case studies. The book will include a series of case studies that are the result of 20 years of experience with problems in venous thromboembolism. Each case will be accompanied by reproductions of the actual diagnostic tests and will include clinical outcomes and editorial comments regarding the clinical validity of diagnostic tests