Guidelines for prophylaxis and anti-thrombotic treatment for patients with COVID-19. Consensus of the Latin American Cooperative Group on Hemostasis and Thrombosis (CLAHT) / Guía de profilaxia y tratamiento antitrombótico para pacientes con COVID-19. Consenso del Grupo Cooperativo Latinoamericano en Hemostasia y Trombosis (CLAHT)

Coagulopathy and thrombosis associated with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) represent a major issue in the management of this disease. In the past months, clinical studies have demonstrated that COVID-19 patients present with a particular hypercoagulable state, in which a markedly increased D-dimer concomitant with increased levels of fibrinogen are observed. This hypercoagulable state leads to an increased risk of thrombosis, which seems to be higher among those patients with critical symptoms of COVID-19. The best therapeutic approach to prevent thrombotic events in COVID-19 has not been determined yet and several questions regarding thromboprophylaxis therapy, such as the time to initiate anticoagulation, type of anticoagulant and dose regimen, have emerged among physicians. To address these concerns, several medical societies have published position papers to provide the opinion of thrombosis experts on the management of coagulopathy and thrombosis associated with COVID-19. In line with this, the Latin America Cooperative Group of Hemostasis and Thrombosis (Grupo CLAHT) has constituted a panel of experts in thrombosis and hemostasis to discuss the available data on this topic. The aim of this review is to summarize the current evidence regarding hemostatic impairment and thrombotic risk in COVID-19 and to provide a carefully revised opinion of Latin American experts on the thromboprophylaxis and management of thrombotic events and coagulopathy in patients with suspected COVID-19.

La coagulopatía y la trombosis asociadas a la enfermedad por coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) representan un problema importante en el manejo de esta enfermedad. Los estudios clínicos de los últimos meses han demostrado que los pacientes con COVID-19 presentan un estado de hipercoagulabilidad particular, en el que se observa un aumento notable del dímero D concomitante con niveles elevados de fibrinógeno. El estado de hipercoagulabilidad conduce a un mayor riesgo de trombosis, que parece ser mayor entre aquellos pacientes con síntomas críticos de COVID-19. El mejor enfoque terapéutico para prevenir los eventos trombóticos en esta nueva enfermedad aún no se ha determinado y han surgido varias preguntas con respecto a la tromboprofilaxia, como el momento adecuado para iniciar la anticoagulación, el tipo de anticoagulante y el régimen de dosis. Para abordar estas preocupaciones, varias sociedades médicas han publicado artículos de posición para brindar la opinión de expertos en trombosis sobre el manejo de la coagulopatía y trombosis asociadas a COVID-19. Grupo Cooperativo Latinoamericano de Hemostasia y Trombosis (Grupo CLAHT) ha convocado a un panel de expertos en trombosis y hemostasia para discutir los datos disponibles sobre este tema. El objetivo de esta revisión es resumir la evidencia actual con respecto al deterioro hemostático y el riesgo trombótico en el COVID-19 y proporcionar una opinión cuidadosamente revisada de los expertos latinoamericanos sobre la tromboprofilaxis y el manejo de eventos trombóticos y coagulopatía en pacientes con sospecha de COVID-19.

Global reporting of pulmonary embolism-related deaths in the World Health Organization mortality database: Vital registration data from 123 countries.

INTRODUCTION: Pulmonary embolism (PE) has not been accounted for as a cause of death contributing to cause-specific mortality in global reports. METHODS: We analyzed global PE-related mortality by focusing on the latest year available for each member state in the World Health Organization (WHO) mortality database, which provides age-sex-specific aggregated mortality data transmitted by national authorities for each underlying cause of death. PE-related deaths were defined by International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision codes for acute PE or nonfatal manifestations of venous thromboembolism (VTE). The 2001 WHO standard population served for standardization. RESULTS: We obtained data from 123 countries covering a total population of 2 602 561 422. Overall, 50 (40.6%) were European, 39 (31.7%) American, 13 (10.6%) Eastern Mediterranean, 13 (10.6%) Western Pacific, 3 (2.4%) Southeast Asian, and 2 (1.6%) African. Of 116 countries classifiable according to population income, 57 (49.1%) were high income, 42 (36.2%) upper-middle income, 14 (12.1%) lower-middle income, and 3 (2.6%) low income. A total of 18 726 382 deaths were recorded, of which 86 930 (0.46%) were attributed to PE. PE-related mortality rate increased with age in most countries. The reporting of PE-related deaths was heterogeneous, with an age-standardized mortality rate ranging from 0 to 24 deaths per 100 000 population-years. Income status only partially explained this heterogeneity. CONCLUSIONS: Reporting of PE-related mortality in official national vital registration was characterized by extreme heterogeneity across countries. These findings mandate enhanced efforts toward systematic and uniform coverage of PE-related mortality and provides a case for full recognition of PE and VTE as a primary cause of death.