title: Optimal duration of oral anticoagulant therapy in venous thromboembolism.
abstract: Recent trials with sufficient statistical power have demonstrated that the duration of oral anticoagulation in many cases need to be extended well beyond 4-6 weeks. Since many individual factors, as risk of hemorrhage and of recurrence, compliance and cost have to be weighed into a decision, it is difficult to issue general recommendations. Several of these factors, especially those influencing the risk of recurrent event are reviewed here. The ideal solutions will perhaps only be achieved when we have learned how to combine the optimal duration with a time-adjusted decrease in oral anticoagulation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Karolinska Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden. ssc@divmed.ks.se
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Schulman
mesh_terms: D000284:Administration, Oral; D000925:Anticoagulants / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006470:Hemorrhage / Q000139:chemically induced; D006801:Humans; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D012008:Recurrence; D012307:Risk Factors; D013923:Thromboembolism / Q000188:drug therapy*; D014680:Veins / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D000925:Anticoagulants