ASH Releases New Guidelines for Management of Venous Thromboembolism in Latin America

Recommendations tailored to needs and resources of Latin American countries in aim to improve care for VTE patients in the region

(WASHINGTON, August 10, 2021) — Today, the American Society of Hematology (ASH), the world’s largest professional society dedicated to furthering the understanding, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of blood disorders, announced the publication of adapted guidelines for the management of venous thromboembolism in Latin America, in partnership with 12 Latin American hematology societies representing 10 countries.

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) includes deep-vein thrombosis (DVT), a blood clot that typically forms in the deep veins of the leg, and pulmonary embolism (PE), a life-threatening condition that occurs when a blood clot breaks free and becomes lodged in the arteries of the lung. These blood clots can affect anyone – from the healthy to the chronically ill – and occur commonly throughout the world. In Argentina, for example, the annual incidence is estimated as 1.65 cases out of every 1,000 people. Yet despite the prevalence of VTE, treatment of patients in Latin America can be a challenge due to an important socioeconomic gap in the region: individuals of lower socioeconomic status often lack access to health care services, medication, and education. Also, some technologies are not available or feasible for use in some medical centers in Latin American countries.

Recognizing these considerations and differences in access to care, ASH convened a guidelines panel including experts from 12 hematology societies in Latin America to identify and address the clinical questions and needs of patients and providers in the region. Using systematic evidence reviews done for the ASH VTE guidelines Treatment of Deep Vein Thrombosis and Pulmonary Embolism and Optimal Management of Anticoagulation Therapy, the panel adapted evidence-based guidelines with special considerations such as feasibility, affordability, and equity issues to more effectively treat VTE patients throughout Latin America.

“In collaboration with our partners in the region, ASH adapted these guidelines so Latin American patients and clinicians alike can have the evidence-based tools they need to make informed decisions about managing VTE within the unique health care setting of their country,” said ASH President Martin S. Tallman, MD. “This effort is not only a crucial step toward delivering quality care tailored to the individual needs of our patients, but also the latest contribution to ASH’s mission to conquer blood disorders worldwide.”

The 17 guideline recommendations acknowledge the realities of the Latin American clinical setting, including local resources, institutional policies, and availability of treatments.

“These guidelines address questions that we thought were relevant for the Latin American region that differed from other parts of the world,” said Patricia Casais, MD, PhD, MSc, of the Grupo Cooperativo Latinoamericano de Hemostasia y Trombosis and the Grupo Cooperativo Argentino de Hemostasia y Trombosis. “Our goal was to ensure that these guidelines were practical to help clinicians in Latin America make decisions in different scenarios, but also addressed feasibility regarding the availability and affordability of each recommendation.”

The recommendations are published in Blood Advances and available in English, Spanish, and Portuguese. Clinical tools and educational resources in English, Spanish, and Portuguese are also available to help patients, hematologists, and other health care providers understand and implement the recommendations. A second adapted guideline on the prevention of VTE is expected in late 2021.

These guidelines are the most recent product of a larger guideline development initiative for ASH, which includes a commitment to the timely update of existing guidelines and the development of new ones on a range of hematologic conditions.

Visit www.hematology.org/VTEguidelines for more information about the ASH Guidelines on VTE.