title: Balancing risks and benefits of extended anticoagulant therapy for idiopathic venous thrombosis.
abstract: About half of the patients with a first idiopathic proximal deep vein thrombosis (DVT) or pulmonary embolism (PE) are expected to have a recurrent episode of venous thromboembolism (VTE) within 10 years of stopping therapy, and randomized trials have shown that this group of patients benefit from long-term anticoagulant therapy. High risks for bleeding and patient preference are compelling reasons not to treat such patients long-term. Although a number of factors are associated with a reduced risk of recurrence, they require further validation before it is appropriate to routinely stop anticoagulants after 3 months in patients with idiopathic proximal DVT or PE.
authors.affiliation: Hamilton Health Sciences, Henderson Division, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. kearonc@mcmaster.ca
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kearon
mesh_terms: D000925:Anticoagulants / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D011655:Pulmonary Embolism; D018570:Risk Assessment; D020246:Venous Thrombosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology
chemical_list: D000925:Anticoagulants