Outpatient treatment of deep vein thrombosis with LMWH.

Low-molecular-weight heparin therapy is safe and effective in the treatment of patients with acute deep vein thrombosis. These compounds are administered subcutaneously, without a need for laboratory control. This has made possible to treat patients with venous thrombosis outside the hospital. Two large studies, Tasman and a Canadian study, have demonstrated the efficacy and safety of low-molecular-weight heparin in this setting. Furthermore, there is some evidence that the safety, efficacy and feasibility is good in daily routine practice. Now, the task is to develop guidelines for widespread application of these findings to daily clinical practice. However, successful home treatment will require intensive patient education as well as an extensive infrastructure of supportive nursing and physician services. Careful patient follow-up will be crucially important.