RT Book, Section A1 Phillips, Beth B. A1 Welston, Kirby A2 Sutton, S. Scott SR Print(0) ID 1158313513 T1 Anticoagulation/Venous Thromboembolism T2 McGraw-Hill's NAPLEX® Review Guide, 3e YR 2019 FD 2019 PB McGraw-Hill Education PP New York, NY SN 9781260135923 LK accesspharmacy.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1158313513 RD 2024/03/29 AB Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a common and serious disorder that includes deep venous thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE). Patients presenting with VTE often have one or more risk factors for thromboembolism. Classic symptoms of a DVT include unilateral pain, swelling, erythema, and tenderness usually of the lower extremity; although some patients may be symptom free. Compression ultrasound is typically used to diagnose a DVT. The symptoms of a PE are nonspecific and may include chest pain, shortness of breath, tachypnea, dyspnea, and hemoptysis. Most PEs originate from a DVT. The diagnosis of a PE is made by the presence of symptoms in conjunction with findings on ventilation-perfusion (V/Q) and computerized tomography (CT) scans. Medical work-up of patients presenting with VTE include determination of risk factors for VTE. Certain risk factors are reversible (eg, estrogen use, recent orthopedic surgery, smoking, prolonged immobility) and may be eliminated over time. The presence of irreversible or continuing risk factors (eg, cancer, thrombophilia, previous history of VTE) requires longer or an extended duration of therapy.