Team-based learning course
The International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis (ISTH) has launched the next iteration of the ISTH team-based learning course focused on bringing together early-career physicians from around the world to collaborate on complex cases in bleeding and clotting.
The course features three case modules on these topics:
- LIver Coagulopathy: Management of Complications
- Von Willebrand Disease (VWD) in Women and Pregnancy
- Treatment with Vitamin K Antagonists and Reversal
The course will accommodate three learning teams, each consisting of up to fifteen students (maximum 45 total students) and three facilitators (nine total facilitators), who will mentor the students. The virtual course lasts 12 weeks, April 20 - July 15, with a final in-person meeting in Paris, France, at the ISTH 2026 Congress. Learning teams will meet virtually at least once weekly, with a gap week between each case.
Course Learning Objectives
Liver Coagulopathy: Management of Complications (Maria Magnusson, Sweden)
By the end of the course, the participants will be able to:
- Describe the concept of rebalanced coagulation in liver cirrhosis
- Discuss impact of rebalanced coagulation on (1) interventions/surgical procedures and (2) thromboprophylaxis
- Discuss management of portal vein thrombosis
- Explain management of variceal and nonvariceal bleeding in patients with liver cirrhosis
Von Willebrand Disease (VWD) in Women and Pregnancy (Maha Othman, Canada)
By the end of the course, the participants will be able to:
- Describe a guidance-based approach for investigation of a patient with heavy menstrual bleeding
- Describe the unique diagnostic and management challenges of VWD in women and during pregnancy including developing a delivery plan and appropriate prophylactic and therapeutic hemostatic strategies
- Apply a multidisciplinary, patient-centered approach to managing bleeding risk in pregnancy and delivery in a woman with VWD
- Develop an appropriate laboratory investigation plan for diagnosing and monitoring VWD in pregnancy
Treatment with Vitamin K Antagonists and Reversal (Vittorio Pengo, Italy)
By the end of the course, the participants will be able to:
- Identify and interpret laboratory coagulation abnormalities of classical coagulation test
- Differentiate data implying thrombophilia from those associated with bleeding disorders or clinical irrelevance
- Evaluate the thrombotic risks and treatment implications of using procoagulant agents (e.g. tranexamic acid, prothrombin complex concentrate) in patients with known or suspected thrombophilias
- Integrate multimodal imaging and clinical findings to diagnose coronary artery involvement in APS and differentiate it from atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease
Facilitators
Facilitators will act as mentors to the learning teams, providing guidance and steering learning to ensure productive and rewarding experiences for everyone. Facilitators will meet with students virtually to help work through cases, and attend the final meeting at ISTH 2026 in Paris, France.
Facilitators should be specialist physicians with five to seven years of experience managing bleeding and/or thrombotic disorders. Facilitators will receive a certificate at the completion of the course.