| Lindmarker P and Holmstrom M, 1996, Sweden1 | 434 patients with symptomatic DVT, 239 proximal, 195 distal | Cohort | Recurrent DVT, incidence of pulmonary embolus, bleeding events, death | Frequency of major events during the administration of LMWH was 0.92% with an exact 95% CI of 0.25, 2.35% | High incidence of distal DVT (45%) may have affected the complication rate |
| Patients were followed up for 3 months | | | During the 3 month follow up period there were 3 reoccurrences and 1 PE | |
| | | | There were no deaths during initial treatment with LMWH | |
| Mattiasson I, et al, 1997, Sweden2 | 523 consecutive patients from 6 hospitals | Cohort | Any bleeding event, pulmonary embolus (PE), progression of thrombus | No serious bleeding event was reported. | Excluded patients with thrombus involving the v iliaca and v cava This may reflect the zero incidence of PE |
| Patients followed up for 3 months | | | No serious thromboembolic complication was noted. | |
| | | Eligibility | 197/523 (38%) were deemed suitable (according to criteria) for total outpatient care 43 (8%) were initially hospitalised but then discharged after a median of 2 days | |
| Grau E, et al, 1998, Spain3 | 71 consecutive patients presenting to the ED with a DVT (56 proximal, 15 calf) | Cohort | Recurrent venous thromboembolic event (VTE) | No patients had VTE recurrence during the 6 months of follow up. | Small number of patients |
| Patients were assessed monthly for 6 months | | Ambulatory care | Ambulatory care was feasible in 39 (55%) of patients. 24 of these were not hospitalised at all and the remaining 15 were discharged within 2 days | |
| Groce B, 1998, USA4 | 125/142 patients with acute proximal DVT | Cohort | Length of stay | From 5.4 to 0.97 days. | Preliminary results |
| | | | 84 patients were in hospital ≤24 hours. The remaining 41 stayed between 1.1 and 3 days | |
| | | Recurrent DVT | 1/125 | |
| | | Bleeding | In 2/125 | |
| Harrison L, et al, 1998, Canada5 | 89/113 consecutive patients | Cohort | Bleeding episode | There was 1 bleeding episode requiring admission | Some patients were followed up at 3 months over the telephone, which may affect validity of findings |
| 69 had proximal DVT, 11 calf vein DVT, 7 had upper extremity DVT, 2 had PE | | Recurrent VTE | 5 cases of recurrent VTE were reported (all had malignant disease) | |
| Patients were followed up at 3 months after initial diagnosis | | | 1 death was reported | |
| | | Patient satisfaction | 75/82 (91%) were pleased at home treatment | Possibility that satisfaction questionnaire not validated |
| Ting S, et al, 1998, Australia6 | 100 consecutive patients with acute lower limb DVT (53 proximal, distal 47) | Cohort | Bleeding | 6 minor bleeding complications. In 2 of these Dalteparin was stopped | |
| Patients were followed up for 6 months | | Recurrent VTE | 4 patients had reoccurrence between 5–12 months | |
| | | PE | No episodes of symptomatic PE reported | |
| Wells P, et al, 1998, USA7 | 194/233 patients presenting with DVT were recruited into 2 care models | Cohort | Recurrent VTE | The overall recurrent event rate was 3.6% (95% CI 1.5%, 7.4%) | As patients were cared for in a highly supervised research setting, evidence of their satisfaction/anxiety with the service could have been assessed |
| Patients were followed up for 6 months | | Bleeding events | The overall rate of major haemorrahge was 2.0% (95% CI 0.6%, 5.2%) | |
| | | | More than 184/194 patients were treated mainly at home | |
| Yusen D, et al, 1999, USA8 | 195 hospitalised patients diagnosed as having a proximal DVT were assessed for outpatient treatment. | Cohort | Recurrent VTE, major bleeding, death | No complications were recorded in any of the 36 eligible or possibly eligible patients | Criteria applied retrospectively |
| | | Eligibility | Of the 159 patients classified as ineligible, 13 (8%; 95% CI 4%, 12%) died or developed serious complications | Lack of documentation may have limited the ability to determine accurate complication rates |