American Venous Registry Launches IVC Filter Module

June 16, 2011—The American Venous Forum (AVF) announced the launch of the Inferior Vena Cava (IVC) Filter Module for its American Venous Registry (AVR). The AVR was launched in February. Uchenna Onyeachom, the AVR administrator, noted that this is the first and only national registry of IVC filters placed and retrieved in the United States.

According to the AVF, the registry standardizes the collaborative collection and analysis of clinical information about venous disease. It will identify practice patterns for venous disease diagnosis and treatment across the United States and across various specialties. By doing this, the AVR will facilitate the assessment of functional outcomes and comparative analyses of different clinical approaches to venous disease management. It will be a tool for the development of treatment guidelines, evidence-based modifications of public policy, and redirection of health care resources. The AVR will also serve to answer research questions prioritized by the AVF and provide a real-time clinical practice tool to assist the practices of individual participating physicians.

The AVF stated that the IVC Filter Module will enable physicians to enter and track the indications for which they are placing filters, the types of filters they are using, how frequently they are retrieving filters, and any complications. Physicians will be able to compare this information from their patients with the national aggregate.

The registry will be composed of five modules: varicose vein treatment, IVC filters, venous stenting, thrombectomy/thrombolysis, and upper extremity venous treatment. Each module will focus on one aspect of venous disease, offering several clinical practice tools and the ability to run specific benchmarking queries in real time.

Brajesh K. Lal, MD, is Chair of the AVR and John Rectenwald, MD, is Chair of the AVR's IVC Filter Module. More information is available online for the American Venous Forum at http://www.veinforum.org and for the American Venous Registry at http://www.venousregistry.org.

The AVF stated that venous disease remains understudied and is severely underestimated for its impact on public health. The AVF noted that an estimated 25% or more of the United States and worldwide populations have venous disease and that chronic venous diseases are more prevalent than coronary, carotid, and peripheral artery diseases combined. Additionally, acute venous thromboembolism is the cause of more than 100,000 deaths in the United States each year. Still, the care for these conditions is not standardized.