Impact of multidisciplinary team meetings on the management of venous thromboembolism. A clinical study of 142 cases.

Abstract

Numerous guidelines have been published on the management of venous thromboembolism (VTE). However, therapeutic decision-making may prove challenging in routine clinical practice. With this in mind, multidisciplinary team (MDT) meetings have been set up in Rennes University Hospital, France. This study sought to describe the situations discussed during MDT meetings and to assess whether the meetings bring about changes in the management of these patients. A retrospective single-center study conducted at the Rennes University Hospital included cases presented from the beginning of the MDT meetings (February 2015) up to May 2017. In total, 142 cases were presented in 15 MDT meetings, corresponding to a mean of 10±4 cases per meeting. Of these, 129 related to VTE patients: 33 provoked VTEs, 22unprovoked VTEs, 49 cancer-related VTEs, and 25 unspecified VTEs. MDT meetings led to significant changes in the anticoagulation type (therapeutic, prophylactic, or discontinuation) and duration, but not in the anticoagulant choice (direct oral anticoagulants, vitamin K antagonists, heparins, etc.). Requests for MDT meetings are made for all VTE types, and these meetings have an impact on VTE management.