ABC of Antithrombotic Therapy PDF

Preface:

The seeds for this book were sown with the establishment of the haemostasis, thrombosis and vascular biology unit at the university department of medicine, City Hospital, Birmingham—with the coming together of clinicians and scientists interested in thrombosis and vascular biology, bridging the previous divide in thrombosis between basic science research and the application to clinical practice. Indeed, thrombosis is the underlying pathophysiological process in a wide variety of conditions. A greater understanding of the mechanisms leading to thrombosis, and newer developments in the field of antithrombotic therapy make the field all the more dynamic and exciting. The multidisciplinary team effort and the wide range of research areas studied in our unit forms the core content of the ABC of Antithrombotic Therapy. In major textbooks on thrombosis the scope is comprehensive, background details on physiology and pathophysiology are abundant, and treatment options are listed to exhaustion—the patient may sometimes almost disappear in the wealth of information.Our approach in this book—typical of the ABC series in the British Medical Journal —tries to synthesise and integrate the extensive research and clinical data that are needed to manage a particular situation as masterly as it is possible.
We hope we have produced a patient-oriented guide with relevant information from clinical epidemiology, pathophysiology, common sense clinical judgement, and evidence based treatment options, with reference to recently published antithrombotic therapy guidelines from the American College of Chest Physicians, British Society for Haematology, European Society of Cardiology, American College of Cardiology, and American Heart Association. Our expectant readers are physicians, general practitioners, medical or nursing students, nurses, and healthcare scientists who care for patients presenting with thrombosis-related problems, and thus, the scope is necessarily wide, ranging from venous thromboembolism to atrial fibrillation and stroke, and to thrombosis in cancer and thrombophilic states. Chapters on clinical pharmacology and bleeding risk, as well as anticoagulation monitoring are included. Furthermore, this book includes additional chapters which were not included in the 14 issues of this series when it first appeared in the British Medical Journal. We thank our excellent colleagues for their help, encouragement and contributions, as well as Sally Carter at BMJ Books for encouraging us to complete the series and book, nearly to schedule.[/mks_toggle]