PMID: 15235686Jul 6, 2004Paper

Anticoagulation period in idiopathic venous thromboembolism. How long is enough?

Saudi Medical Journal
Rami S Farraj

Abstract

The period of anticoagulation of a first episode of idiopathic venous thromboembolism has been 6 months. It is unclear if such patients would benefit from longer treatment, as there appears to be an increased risk of recurrence after anticoagulation is stopped. In a randomized prospective study of 64 patients admitted to King Hussein Medical city, Amman, Jordan, who developed a first episode of venous thromboembolism, 32 patients were given warfarin for 24-months, while 32 patients stopped anticoagulation after completion of 6-months of therapy. Our goal was to determine the effects of extended anticoagulation on rates of recurrence of symptomatic venous thromboembolism and bleeding. The patients were followed for 12-months after stopping anticoagulation. After 24-months, 7 of the 32 patients (21%) who had standard anticoagulation for 6-months had a recurrent episode of thromboembolism compared to one of the 32 patients who received anticoagulation for 24 months (3%). Extended warfarin therapy for 24-months has resulted in an absolute risk reduction of 0.1% (p<0.05). This translates into 8 patients having to be treated for 24-months to avoid one recurrence without increasing the risk of major bleeding. Two patients in each grou...Continue Reading

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