Value of anticoagulants in the treatment of pulmonary embolism: A discussion paper

Abstract

Heparin and warfarin were first widely used to treat pulmonary embolism (PE) in the early 1940s. Early acceptance of these drugs was widespread and, in retrospect, rather uncritical. In the face of enthusiastic reports it became very difficult to mount properly controlled trials. Other treatments which evolved in a similar way, and have also been in widespread use, have proved ineffective when formally assessed. It is the purpose of this paper to ask the question: 'How do we know that anticoagulants are of benefit in the treatment of PE?'