Thrombolytic Therapy in Pulmonary Thromboembolism

Abstract

Acute pulmonary thromboembolism (PE) is a common disorder with significant mortality and morbidity. Timely recognition and prompt therapy of this disorder is essential to prevent adverse consequences. Thrombolytic therapy has an important role in the management of high-risk pulmonary embolism patients, where it can be lifesaving. However, the potential clinical benefit of thrombolytic therapy needs to balanced against the risk of major bleeding associated with the use of these agents. Hence patient selection is of paramount importance in determining the success of this therapy. Management strategies in PE are centered around the concept of risk stratification of the cases. In this chapter we briefly discuss the risk categorization of PE cases, followed by a more elaborative discussion of the role of thrombolytic therapy in the management of patients with high risk or intermediate risk PE.