Journal of the American College of Cardiology
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J. Am. Coll. Cardiol. · Nov 2002
Meta Analysis Comparative StudyThrombolytic therapy of pulmonary embolism: a meta-analysis.
We sought to assess the efficacy and safety of thrombolytic therapy in patients with an acute pulmonary embolism (PE). ⋯ Compared with intravenous heparin, thrombolytic therapy does not appear to have therapeutic benefit in unselected patients with acute PE, but it is associated with an increased risk of major hemorrhage. Given the small number of patients included in the randomized trials thus far, the negative results in terms of the efficacy outcomes should be interpreted with caution. Definitive evidence of the utility of thrombolytic therapy in this setting requires a large, randomized, controlled trial.