Clinical Outcomes and Adherence to Guideline Recommendations During the Initial Treatment of Acute Venous Thromboembolism

BACKGROUND: Adherence to American College of Chest Physicians (CHEST) guidelines for treatment of acute venous thromboembolism (VTE) has not been formally assessed in the United States, specifically in the subset of patients with renal impairment. OBJECTIVE: Evaluate adherence to CHEST VTE treatment guidelines. METHODS: This retrospective cohort study evaluated patients with acute VTE between January 1, 2010, and December 31, 2011, for the primary outcome of adherence to CHEST VTE treatment guidelines defined as (1) patients receiving an appropriate parenteral anticoagulant and dose based on renal function and weight, (2) at least 5 days of parenteral anticoagulation during warfarin initiation, and (3) an international normalized ratio (INR) value ≥2 documented before discontinuing parenteral agents. Secondary outcomes included recurrent thromboembolism and major bleeding across renal function categories. RESULTS: Of the 1683 patients included in the final analysis, 1483 (88%) had complete data for all 3 elements of the primary outcome (dose, overlap duration, and INR ≥2.0). VTE guideline adherence was identified in 95% (1408/1483) of these patients. There were 20 major bleeds overall, which occurred in 1.1%, 1.1%, and 1.3% in patients with CrCl <30 mL/min, 30 to 59 mL/min, and ≥60 mL/min, respectively (P = 0.929). Also, 7 recurrent VTE events occurred-3 in patients with CrCl values of 30 to 59 mL/min (0.5%) and 4 in patients with CrCl ≥60 mL/min (0.4%; P = 0.797 across groups). CONCLUSIONS: Adherence to CHEST guidelines was high and resulted in low rates of bleeding and recurrent VTE complications across renal function categories. Further studies of patients with CrCl <30 mL/min are needed.