Cigarette smoking cessation and total and cause-specific mortality: a 22-year follow-up study among US male physicians.

IVC Filter Retrieval. Because retrievable filters often become permanent, the risk-benefit analysis performed prior to placement should involve weighing the long-term consequences of recurrent DVT and IVC thrombosis with reduction in nonfatal PE. Inferior vena cava filters should be used primarily in patients who have acute VTE with an absolutecontraindicationtoanticoagulationandshouldberemovedassoonas full-doseanticoagulationcanbesafely tolerated. Health care providers should remember that while these devices may decrease the risk of PE, they do not prevent DVT nor are they a substitute for anticoagulant treatment of VTE. While recommended retrieval time varies by filter type, Godoy-Garcia and colleagues offer data to suggest that later removal was relatively safe for those devices studied. Through a combination of increasing appropriate use, increasedretrieval,andmoredataonsafetyandefficacy, we can optimize patient benefit from use of these filters.