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Review
. 2022 Oct 18;11(20):6129.
doi: 10.3390/jcm11206129.

Pulmonary Embolism Response Teams: Theory, Implementation, and Unanswered Questions

Antoine Bejjani  1 , Candrika D Khairani  1 , Umberto Campia  1   2 , Gregory Piazza  1   2
Affiliations
Review

Pulmonary Embolism Response Teams: Theory, Implementation, and Unanswered Questions

Antoine Bejjani et al. J Clin Med. .

Abstract

Pulmonary embolism (PE) continues to represent a significant health care burden and its incidence is steadily increasing worldwide. Constantly evolving therapeutic options and the rarity of randomized controlled trial data to drive clinical guidelines impose challenges on physicians caring for patients with PE. Recently, PE response teams have been developed and recommended to help address these issues by facilitating a consensus among local experts while advocating the management of acute PE according to each individual patient profile. In this review, we focus on the clinical challenges supporting the need for a PE response team, report the current evidence for their implementation, assess their impact on PE management and outcomes, and address unanswered questions and future directions.

Keywords: catheter-directed therapy; length of stay; pulmonary embolism; pulmonary embolism response team.

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Conflict of interest statement

Piazza has received research support from Bristol-Myers Squibb/Pfizer Alliance, Bayer, Janssen, Alexion, Amgen and Boston Scientific Corporation, and consulting fees from Bristol-Myers Squibb/Pfizer Alliance, Boston Scientific Corporation, Janssen, Namsa, Prairie Education and Research Cooperative, Boston Clinical Research Institute, and Amgen. The other authors report no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The rationale for pulmonary embolism response teams.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The rationale for a PE response team. PE = pulmonary embolism.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Structure and development of a PE response team. PE = pulmonary embolism.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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