"Outpatient Management" of Pulmonary Embolism Defined in the Primary Literature: A Narrative Review.

ABSTRACT:

Purpose

The evidence for the effectiveness of outpatient treatment of low-risk patients with acute pulmonary embolism (PE) continues to mount. However, lack of definitional clarity may hinder understanding of this emerging management strategy and impede translation into clinical practice. We describe the range of definitions provided in the primary outpatient PE literature.

Methods

We undertook a narrative review of the English-language medical literature indexed in PubMed and Embase through the end of 2019. We identified studies of outpatient treatment of patients with acute PE.

Results

Fifty-one studies met our criteria. All studies provided some degree of definition of "outpatient," even if implicit or broad. Forty-six studies (90%) reported 1 or 2 sites of patient

SUBMITTER: Shan J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8784062 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature