Monotherapy Anticoagulation to Expedite Home Treatment of Patients Diagnosed With Venous Thromboembolism in the Emergency Department: A Pragmatic Effectiveness Trial.

Background: The objective was to test if low-risk emergency department patients with vitamin K antagonist (venous thromboembolism [VTE]; including venous thrombosis and pulmonary embolism [PE]) can be safely and effectively treated at home with direct acting oral (monotherapy) anticoagulation in a large-scale, real-world pragmatic effectiveness trial.

Methods: This was a single-arm trial, conducted from 2016 to 2019 in accordance with the Standards for Reporting Implementation Studies guideline in 33 emergency departments in the United States. Participants had newly diagnosed VTE with low risk of death based upon either the modified Hestia criteria, or physician judgment plus the simplified PE severity index score of zero, together with nonhigh bleeding risk were eligible.

ECG of the month. Bigeminal rhythm VIII. Sinus rhythm with normal antegrade atrioventricular (A-V) conduction and slow retrograde conduction back to the atria, producing atrial reentry or echo complexes and suggesting dual A-V nodal pathways or an accessory A-V pathway that conducts slowly from the ventricles to the atria.

A 55-year-old woman came to the emergency department because of an episode of post-prandial upper abdominal pain radiating to her back and associated with nausea and vomiting. The pain had been recurring intermittently for approximately six months. While in the emergency department, she had another episode of pain and felt lightheaded.