New NICE Evidence Update Published

April 17th 2014

This latest Evidence Update focuses on new evidence relevant to NICE clinical guideline 144 (CG144), Venous thromboembolic diseases: the management of venous thromboembolic diseases and the role of thrombophilia testing’.

The new Evidence Update, which aims to highlight new evidence that health professionals may wish to consider alongside current guidance, can be viewed here.

The update raised several key points, including the following:

Several new oral anticoagulants have been approved for the management of venous thromboembolism (VTE) since the publication of NICE CG144 and have been or are currently being reviewed as part of the NICE technology appraisal programme.
Routine long-term use of graduated elastic compression stockings does not appear to prevent post-thrombotic syndrome in patients with a first proximal DVT.
In people who have experienced a first unprovoked DVT or PE and completed initial anticoagulation therapy, low-dose aspirin compared with placebo may reduce the risk of VTE and vascular events without increasing the risk of bleeding. In particular, aspirin may be a potential alternative for patients who have had an unprovoked VTE and are unwilling or unable to undertake long-term anticoagulation therapy.

Since April 2011, Bazian's IS team has worked on over 40 Evidence Updates for NICE. The aim of NICE Evidence Updates is to help health and social care professionals keep up-to-date with new research, while reducing the time and resources spent searching for the latest evidence. Evidence Updates are upcoming on several topics, including Crohn’s disease and infection control.

More information on NICE Evidence Updates, as well as links to all published and upcoming updates, can be found on the NICE Evidence Updates home page, while a more detailed description of Bazian's Information Specialist services can be found here.