Implantable Pump for Chronic Heparin Therapy

摘要

The Office of Health Technology Assessment (OHTA) emphasizes three basic principles in its assessment activities: (1) broad and open participation both within and outside of the Federal government, (2) reliance on the expertise and research abilities of outside organizations and individuals, and (3) broad dissemination of assessment reports. This assessment focuses on an implantable pump for chronic heparin therapy. It has seen relatively little clinical application and there are only a few studies which support its use. Its application is clearly limited to those instances of recurrent thromboembolic disease refractory to other modes of therapy. While the FDA has determined that the implanted pump for chronic heparin therapy is safe and effective there is not sufficient data to establish its clinical effectiveness for the general population. To date studies using this device have been restricted to those patients in whom conventional modes of heparin administration have failed. The number of patients included in these studies has been insufficient to formulate the basis for a determination of its clinical effectiveness for the general population.