Management of Venous Thromboembolism in Hospitalized Patients With Cancer

STATEMENT OF NEED

Venous thromboembolism (VTE), which consists primarily of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE), is a life-threatening complication in hospitalized patients with cancer, and is associated with a 2- to 6-fold increase in likelihood of death (NCCN, 2016). The mainstay of treatment is anticoagulation; however, since cancer patients with VTE have higher rates of bleeding complications, VTE risk assessment is essential to determine which patients will benefit from anticoagulant therapy (Khorana et al, 2016). Early recognition of hospitalized chemotherapy patients at high risk for VTE will help the multidisciplinary team to prescribe prophylaxis in a timely and appropriate manner, avoid use when inappropriate, and ultimately reduce the number of patients who experience VTE during their cancer treatment.

TARGET AUDIENCE

Nurses, nurse practitioners, and clinical nurse specialists.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Upon completion of this activity, participants should be able to:

1. Describe the signs and symptoms of DVT and PE
2. Assess VTE risk in hospitalized patients receiving chemotherapy
3. Apply current VTE guidelines in the management of hospitalized patients receiving chemotherapy