Abstract
Clinical practice guidelines (CPG) provide recommendations based on the summary of large volumes of literature and expert opinion. They are not absolute care directives, but are intended to facilitate individualized decision making related to patient care situations. Each month this column reviews a CPG of direct relevance to clinical practice. Readers are urged to contact the author, Mary Jo Goolsby (mjgoolsby@aanp.org) with requests for reviews of specific clinical guidelines or submissions of manuscripts addressing major guidelines that readers have found helpful in their practice. The Clinical Practice Guideline column is designed to inform practitioners of the wide range of accessible and current recommendations on a myriad of clinical topics. The guideline reviewed this month is actually one part of a large report stemming from the Sixth American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP) Consensus Conference on Antithrombotic Therapy. The management of oral anticoagulant therapy is but one portion of the overall report, complemented and supported by other components, including a preceding chapter that summarizes the mechanisms of action, clinical effectiveness, and therapeutic range of oral agents. This CPG focuses on following issues: (a) initiating and maintaining dosage, (b) managing non-therapeutic dosages, (c) managing the agents during invasive procedures, and (d) recognizing and responding to adverse events. Special situations are discussed, including management of patients who are elderly or pregnant, and comparisons of the management in different models of care. There is in-depth discussion of the literature, accompanied by a summary of recommendations.
Published Version
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