The 2019 European Society of Cardiology (ESC) guidelines for the diagnosis and management of acute pulmonary embolism (PE), which are endorsed by the European Respiratory Society, are now available in the European Respiratory Journal.
The guidelines, published to coincide with the ESC Congress, provide an update on the 2014 guidelines and are based on new data and up-to-date knowledge of the diagnosis, assessment and treatment of adult patients with PE.
The guidelines were developed by a multidisciplinary ESC Task Force whose members were selected to represent the variety of sub-specialities relevant to PE treatment and care. The expert group undertook a comprehensive literature review and critical evaluation of diagnostic and therapeutic procedures in order to compile the guidelines.
Some key updates in the 2019 guidelines include:
- Diagnosis, such as new age- and clinical probability-adjusted D-dimer cut-off values;
- Risk assessments for haemodynamic instability and high-risk PE, PE severity, and early PE-related risk;
- Treatment in the acute phase;
- Chronic treatment after the first three months;
- PE in cancer;
- PE in pregnancy;
- And long-term sequelae, including patient care models, recommendations beyond just CTEPH and patient follow-up.
In addition, the Task Force highlights several key areas relevant to PE diagnosis and treatment that continue to lack enough evidence to be able to offer firm recommendations.