scholarly journals The Optimal Duration and Selection of Anti-coagulants after First Episode of Unprovoked Venous Thromboembolism

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Won-Il Choi ◽  
Yang-Ki Kim
2010 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 313-323 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan E. Conway ◽  
Todd R. Marcy

Clinical practice guidelines currently suggest extended anticoagulation therapy for primary and secondary prevention of venous thromboembolism (VTE). The optimal duration of anticoagulation has been an active area of clinical investigation for patients undergoing orthopedic surgeries and those diagnosed with a first episode of unprovoked VTE. Practice guidelines, VTE incidence, clinical predictors/mediators, and clinical trial evidence is reviewed to help pharmacists and other health care providers make an informed, patient-specific decision on the optimal duration of anticoagulation therapy. Extended anticoagulation up to 5 weeks following orthopedic surgery for primary VTE prevention and indefinitely following a first episode of unprovoked VTE for secondary VTE prevention should be considered only if the risk of bleeding is not high and the cost and burden of anticoagulation is acceptable to the patient. The optimal duration of anticoagulation therapy for primary or secondary prevention of VTE should include the health care provider and patient making a decision based on evaluation of individual benefits, risks, and preferences.


1999 ◽  
Vol 82 (S 01) ◽  
pp. 124-126 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. H. Watzke

SummaryA number of studies have been published in the last years which shed light on the optimal intensity and the optimal duration of oral anticoagulation in patients with venous thrombosis.Based on these studies it is now generally recommended to treat patients with venous thromboembolism at an INR ranging from 2.0 to 3.0. The optimal duration of anticoagulation mainly depends on the nature of the thrombotic event. In patients with a temporary prothrombotic risk factor such as surgery, immobilization or trauma a relatively short duration of oral anticoagulation (3-6 months) is generally recommended. Patients with idiopathic venous thromboembolism require a considerably longer duration of anticoagulation (6 months at least).


Blood ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 112 (11) ◽  
pp. 3029-3029
Author(s):  
Alfonso Iorio ◽  
Esmeralda Filippucci ◽  
Maura Marcucci ◽  
Clive Kearon ◽  
Gualtiero Palareti

Abstract Background: Venous thromboembolism (VTE) has a tendency to recur after anticoagulation is stopped. The optimal duration of anticoagulation is influenced by the risk of recurrence: indefinite anticoagulation is recommended after a first VTE associated with a persistent and strong risk factor (e.g. cancer), whereas three months of anticoagulation is adequate if VTE was provoked by a transient risk factor (e.g. surgery). The optimal duration of anticoagulation after a first unprovoked VTE is, however, still a matter of debate. An attractive approach is to identify subgroups of patients with unprovoked VTE who have a high risk of recurrence and treat them with prolonged anticoagulation, and subgroups with a lower risk of recurrence and treat them for only three months. A critical issue, therefore, is to determine a cut-off value for risk of recurrence that is low enough to justify stopping anticoagulant therapy at three months (i.e., a rate of recurrence that is acceptable to patients and physicians). We propose that the rate of recurrence after VTE that was provoked by a transient risk factor represents such a value. Aim of the study: To accurately estimate the risk of recurrence in patients with VTE provoked by a transient risk factor who have completed at least three months of anticoagulant therapy. Materials and Methods: Medline, Embase and Cochrane Collaboration Registry of Randomized Trials were searched for any studies reporting the recurrence rate of VTE after a first episode of VTE associated with a transient risk factor (surgery, trauma, plaster, bed rest, pregnancy, puerperium, hormone treatment). The references of retrieved articles were scanned for any additional relevant studies. Studies were included if enrolling patients met the following criteria: a first episode of VTE provoked by a transient risk factor; a course of at least three months of oral anticoagulant therapy; a follow up of 12 or 24 months after treatment discontinuation with assessment of VTE recurrence rate. Recurrence rate, or data that allowed its calculation, needed to be reported. An overall estimate of the recurrence rate was calculated following Laird (Stats Med 1990), having predefined to use a fixed-effect model if no heterogeneity was found among the studies or a random-effect model otherwise. The inverse variance method was used to calculate weights for the studies. Results: The literature search yield 1089 references. After careful scanning of the potentially relevant papers, 15 papers were included in the final analysis. All studies except one were prospective. 12/15 and 11/15 studies reported data about the recurrence rate at 12 and 24 months, respectively. Overall there were 106 events among of 2217 patients at 12 months and 160 events among 2321 patients at 24 months. The pooled recurrence rate was 4.0% (95% C.I. 3.0%–5.2%) at 12 months and 6.7% (95% C.I. 5.2%–8.6%) at 24 months. Conclusion: The cumulative risk of recurrence in patients with VTE provoked by a reversible risk factor is 6.7% (95% C.I. 5.2%–8.6%) two years after anticoagulant withdrawal. We suggest that it acceptable to stop anticoagulant therapy after three months in subgroups of patients with unprovoked VTE who have been shown to have a risk of recurrence that is similar to, or lower than, this rate.


2009 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 546-551 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. D. DOUKETIS ◽  
C. GU ◽  
A. PICCIOLI ◽  
A. GHIRARDUZZI ◽  
V. PENGO ◽  
...  

2002 ◽  
Vol 87 (01) ◽  
pp. 7-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cristina Legnani ◽  
Benilde Cosmi ◽  
Giuliana Guazzaloca ◽  
Claudia Pancani ◽  
Sergio Coccheri ◽  
...  

SummaryIn some patients with previous venous thromboembolism (VTE) D-dimer levels (D-Dimer) tend to increase after oral anticoagulant therapy (OAT) is stopped. The aim of our study was to evaluate the predictive value of D-Dimer for the risk of VTE recurrence after OAT withdrawal. After a first episode of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) of the lower limbs and/or pulmonary embolism (PE), 396 patients (median age 67 years, 198 males) were followed from the day of OAT discontinuation for 21 months. D-dimer was measured on the day of OAT withdrawal (T1), 3-4 weeks (T2) and 3 months (+/− 10 days, T3) thereafter. The main outcome events of the study were: objectively documented recurrent DVT and/or PE. D-dimer was found to be increased in 15.5%, 40.3% and 46.2% of the patients at T1, T2 and T3, respectively. In 199 (50.2%) patients, D-dimer levels were elevated in at least one measurement. During a follow-up of 628.4 years, 40 recurrences were recorded (10.1% of patients; 6.4% patient-years of follow-up). D-dimer was increased in at least one measurement in 28 of these cases, but remained normal in 11 subjects (three of whom had recurrent events triggered by circumstantial factors, three with malignancyassociated factors) (in one subject D-dimer was not measured). The negative predictive value (NPV) of D-dimer was 95.6% (95% CI 91.6-98.1) at T3 and was even higher (96.7%; 95% CI 92.9-98.8) after exclusion of the six recurrences due to circumstantial factors. Only five idiopathic recurrences occurred in the 186 patients with consistently normal D-dimer. In conclusion, D-dimer has a high NPV for VTE recurrence when performed after OAT discontinuation.


Circulation ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 123 (6) ◽  
pp. 664-667 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuel Z. Goldhaber ◽  
Gregory Piazza

Thrombosis ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 2010 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aaron B. Holley ◽  
Christopher S. King ◽  
Jeffrey L. Jackson ◽  
Lisa K. Moores

Introduction. Controversy remains over the optimal length of anticoagulation following idiopathic venous thromboembolism. We sought to determine if a longer, finite course of anticoagulation offered additional benefit over a short course in the initial treatment of the first episode of idiopathic venous thromboembolism. Data Extraction. Rates of deep venous thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, combined venous thromboembolism, major bleeding, and mortality were extracted from prospective trials enrolling patients with first time, idiopathic venous thromboembolism. Data was pooled using random effects meta-regression. Results. Ten trials, with a total of 3225 patients, met inclusion criteria. For each additional month of initial anticoagulation, once therapy was stopped, recurrent venous thromboembolism (0.03 (95% CI: −0.28 to 0.35); ), mortality (−0.10 (95% CI: −0.24 to 0.04); ), and major bleeding (−0.01 (95% CI: −0.05 to 0.02); ) rates measured in percent per patient years, did not significantly change. Conclusions: Patients with an initial idiopathic venous thromboembolism should be treated with 3 to 6 months of secondary prophylaxis with vitamin K antagonists. At that time, a decision between continuing with indefinite therapy can be made, but there is no benefit to a longer (but finite) course of therapy.


TH Open ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 02 (04) ◽  
pp. e428-e436 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amaia Iñurrieta ◽  
José Pedrajas ◽  
Manuel Núñez ◽  
Luciano López-Jiménez ◽  
Alba Velo-García ◽  
...  

Background The ideal duration of anticoagulant therapy in elderly patients with unprovoked venous thromboembolism (VTE) has not been consistently evaluated. Methods We used the RIETE (Registro Informatizado Enfermedad TromboEmbólica) registry to compare the rate and severity of pulmonary embolism (PE) recurrences versus major bleeding beyond the third month of anticoagulation in patients >75 years with a first episode of unprovoked VTE. Results As of September 2017, 7,830 patients were recruited: 5,058 (65%) presented with PE and 2,772 with proximal deep vein thrombosis (DVT). During anticoagulant therapy beyond the third month (median, 113 days), 44 patients developed PE recurrences, 36 developed DVT recurrences, 101 had major bleeding, and 241 died (3 died of recurrent PE and 19 of bleeding). The rate of major bleeding was twofold higher than the rate of PE recurrences (2.05 [95% confidence interval, CI: 1.68–2.48] vs. 0.90 [95% CI: 0.66–1.19] events per 100 patient-years) and the rate of fatal bleeding exceeded the rate of fatal PE events (0.38 [95% CI: 0.24–0.58] vs. 0.06 [95% CI: 0.02–0.16] deaths per 100 patient-years). On multivariable analysis, patients who had bled during the first 3 months (hazard ratio [HR]: 4.32; 95% CI: 1.58–11.8) or with anemia at baseline (HR: 1.87; 95% CI: 1.24–2.81) were at increased risk for bleeding beyond the third month. Patients initially presenting with PE were at increased risk for PE recurrences (HR: 3.60; 95% CI: 1.28–10.1). Conclusion Prolonging anticoagulation beyond the third month was associated with more bleeds than PE recurrences. Prior bleeding, anemia, and initial VTE presentation may help decide when to stop therapy.


2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
M Giustozzi ◽  
S Barco ◽  
L Valerio ◽  
F A Klok ◽  
M C Vedovati ◽  
...  

Abstract Introduction The interaction between sex and specific provoking risk factors for venous thromboembolism (VTE) may influence initial presentation and prognosis. Purpose We investigated the impact of sex on the risk of recurrence across subgroups of patients with first VTE classified according to baseline risk factors. Methods PREFER in VTE was an international, non-interventional registry (2013–2015) including patients with a first episode of acute symptomatic objectively diagnosed VTE. We studied the risk of recurrence in patients classified according to baseline provoking risk factors for VTE consisted of i) major transient (major surgery/trauma, >5 days in bed), ii) minor transient (pregnancy or puerperium, estroprogestinic therapy, prolonged immobilization, current infection or bone fracture/soft tissue trauma); iii) unprovoked events, iv) active cancer-associated VTE. Results A total of 3,455 patients diagnosed with first acute VTE were identified, of whom 1,623 (47%) were women. The percentage of patients with a major transient risk factor was 22.2% among women and 19.7% among men. Minor transient risk factors were present in 21.3% and 12.4%, unprovoked VTE in 51.6% and 61.6%, cancer-associated VTE in 4.9% of women and 6.3% of men, respectively. The proportions of cases treated with Vitamin-K antagonists (VKAs) and direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) were similar between sexes. Median length of treatment of VKAs was 181.5 and 182.0 days and of DOACs was 113.0 and 155.0 days in women and men, respectively. At 12-months of follow-up, VTE recurrence was reported in 74 (4.8%) women and 80 (4.5%) men. Table 1 shows the sex-specific proportion of recurrences by VTE risk factor categories. Table 1 Major Transient (n=722) Minor transient (n=573) Cancer-associated (n=195) Unprovoked (1965) Women (361) Men (361) OR (95% CI) Women (346) Men (227) OR (95% CI) Women (79) Men (116) OR (95% CI) Women (837) Men (1128) OR (95% CI) One-year follow-up, n (N%)   Recurrent VTE, 21 (6.2) 10 (2.9) 0.46 (0.2; 0.9) 9 (2.7) 12 (5.4) 2.09 (0.9; 5.0) 6 (8.0) 5 (4.5) 0.54 (0.2; 1.9) 38 (4.7) 53 (4.7) 1.03 (0.7; 1.6)   Major bleeding, 6 (1.8) 5 (1.5) 0.83 (0.3; 2.7) 5 (1.5) 1 (0.5) 0.30 (0.1; 2.6) 1 (1.3) 3 (2.7) 2.07 (0.2; 20) 10 (1.2) 15 (1.4) 1.11 (0.6; 2.4)   All-cause death, 37 (10.2) 31 (8.5) 0.82 (0.5; 1.4) 10 (2.9) 14 (6.2) 2.21 (0.9; 5.1) 26 (32.9) 49 (42.2) 1.49 (0.8; 2.7) 33 (3.9) 30 (2.7) 0.66 (0.4; 1.1) Conclusions The proportion of patients with recurrent VTE events after first acute symptomatic VTE provoked by transient risk factors was not negligible during the first year of follow-up during in both women and men. These results may have implications on the decision whether to consider extended anticoagulant therapy in selected patients with provoked events. Acknowledgement/Funding This study was funded by Daiichi Sankyo.


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