ABSTRACT
Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE) are major health hazards which have a great impact on healthcare costs. In the general population the rate of DVT is about 160 per 100 000 and the rate of fatal PE is 60 per 100 000. Pulmonary embolism is approximately half as common as myocardial infarction and about three times as common as cerebrovascular accident (see Chapter 21). About one-half to two-thirds of patients who die from PE do so within 1 hour of onset, too short a period of time to establish the diagnosis and institute specific treatment.1
Prophylactic anticoagulant treatment might have prevented the development of DVT and some subsequent deaths. Therefore, primary prevention of DVT in defined risk groups is important. When DVT occurs, the secondary objectives are to prevent:
