Early Anticoagulation Therapy Reduces Mortality

New research shows that early anticoagulation treatment significantly reduces mortality in patients with pulmonary embolism (PE). A research team from Mayo Clinical College of Medicine in Rochester, MN, studied 400 consecutive emergency department (ED) patients diagnosed with acute PE who were treated in the hospital with IV unfractionated heparin, either in the ED or after admission. Overall, in-hospital and 30-day mortality rates were 3.0 percent and 7.7 percent, respectively. However, patients who received heparin in the ED had lower in-hospital (1.4 percent vs 6.7 percent) and 30-day (4.4 percent vs 15.3 percent) mortality rates compared with patients given heparin after admission. Researchers suggest that quality improvement measures be considered to expedite management of acute PE. This article is published in the June issue of CHEST, the peer-reviewed journal of the American College of Chest Physicians.