IR BLEEDING RISK GUIDANCE

Click here to view the IR Bleeding Risk Guidance

Dear BSIR members,

Please find attached the BSIR bleeding risk guidance document.

This has been jointly produced by the BSIR Safety & Quality Committee in conjunction with the British Society of Haematology.

This is intended as an easy to use guide for IR teams.

The HEMSTOP screening questionnaire is designed to act as a pre-procedural screening tool rather than simply performing routine clotting screens on all patients, and has been widely supported by the British Society of Haematology. This is used by other surgical specialties and pre-operative assessment teams and we hope that this will guide future radiological practice in the UK.

The second half of the document is designed to guide the temporary cessation and restarting of an anticoagulant or antiplatelet medication for an IR procedure.  This is a complex area to summarise and therefore intended to be used as a general guide for radiology teams, but may require engagement with referring or specialist teams when managing complex patients or for those patients who require bridging protocols.

We hope that this will be a useful guide for daily practice, streamlining processes in an attempt to avoid unnecessary tests, and we are keen to distribute this to the BSIR membership.

Many thanks

Best wishes

Dr Raj Das and Dr Clare Bent on behalf of the BSIR Safety and Quality Subcommittee

Any comments or correspondence please send to : raj.das@stgeorges.nhs.uk and Clare.Bent@uhd.nhs.uk