- Prescribing Advice for GPs - https://www.prescriber.org.uk -

April NICE Guidance

The National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence has published new guidance for the month of April. There are updates to the existing Anxiety and Depression guidelines and a new guideline on the prevention of venous thromboembolism in inpatients undergoing surgery.

The Anxiety and Depression updates focus upon integrating the prescribing advice relating to venlafaxine issued by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency. Amended quick reference guidelines are available for both the anxiety and depression guidelines.

The Venous Thromboembolism (VTE) guideline details assessment of risk of VTE for inpatients undergoing surgery in order to guide treatment decisions for prevention of VTE. This may be of interest to primary care clinicians who are likely to be asked to prescribe or administer continued treatment following discharge.

Action: Clinicians who treat anxiety or depression will find the updates useful in integrating the latest safety advice regarding the use of venlafaxine. Clinicians in primary care who are involved in the provision of preventative treatments for venous thromboembolism will find the new guidelines a useful reference source.