Certain Emergency Department Patients Newly Diagnosed with PE Can Be Discharged Home

It is now common for emergency department (ED) patients with a new diagnosis of deep venous thrombosis (DVT) to be managed as outpatients, yet despite recommendation by many professional societies, outpatient treatment of ED patients with a new diagnosis of pulmonary embolism (PE) remains uncommon.

In this systematic literature review, the investigators reviewed prospective studies that: only included symptomatic patients with a new diagnosis of PE confirmed with radiologic study, utilized a risk assessment tool for PE, reported 90-day outcomes, and offered specific outpatient therapy with follow-up. Of 2286 studies initially screened, 7 met these criteria. Of 741 patients, 13 suffered recurrent PE, and 3 had major bleeding events; there wer…