title: Thrombo-prevention in membranous nephropathy: a new tool for decision making?
abstract: Thromboembolic events occur in primary membranous nephropathy, especially when serum albumin is less than 2.8 g/dl. In such patients, a conundrum arises concerning anticipated benefits and risks when a prophylactic oral anticoagulant is considered. Lee et al. describe a flexible Markov decision tree program to aid decision making. Its application to individual patients will probably be useful, but physicians will need to assess patients' tolerance for the benefit-to-risk ratio, considering the many factors bearing on the risk of thromboembolic events and/or serious bleeding.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California, USA.
authors.forename: Richard J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Glassock
mesh_terms: D000925:Anticoagulants / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003661:Decision Support Techniques; D005260:Female; D015433:Glomerulonephritis, Membranous / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D018579:Patient Selection; D054556:Venous Thromboembolism / Q000517:prevention & control*
chemical_list: D000925:Anticoagulants