Treatment Decision-Making of Secondary Prevention After Venous Thromboembolism: Data From the Real-Life START2-POST-VTE Register.

Abstract

Patients with venous thromboembolism (VTE) should receive a decision on the duration of anticoagulant treatment (AT) that is often not easy to make. Sixteen Italian clinical centers included patients with recent VTE in the START2-POST-VTE register and reported the decisions taken on duration of AT in each patient and the reasons for them. At the moment of this report, 472 (66.9%) of the 705 patients included in the registry were told to stop AT in 59.3% and to extend it in 40.7% of patients. Anticoagulant treatment lasted ≥3 months in >90% of patients and was extended in patients with proximal deep vein thrombosis because considered at high risk of recurrence or had thrombophilic abnormalities. d-dimer testing, assessment of residual thrombus, and patient preference were also indicated among the criteria influencing the decision. In conclusion, Italian doctors stuck to the minimum 3 months AT after VTE, while the secondary or unprovoked nature of the event was not seen as the prevalent factor influencing AT duration which instead was the result of a complex and multifactorial evaluation of each patient.

• Authors: Emilia Antonucci, Ludovica Migliaccio, Maria Abbattista, Antonella Caronna, Sergio De Marchi, Angela Di Giorgio, Rosella Di Giulio, Teresa Lerede, Maria Grazia Garzia, Ida Martinelli, Daniela Mastroiacovo, Marco Marzolo, Elisa Montevecchi, Daniele Pastori, Pasquale Pignatelli, Daniela Poli, Luigi Ria, Angelo Santoliquido, Sophie Testa, Gualtiero Palareti, START POST VTE Investigators
• Journal: Clinical and applied thrombosis/hemostasis : official journal of the International Academy of Clinical and Applied Thrombosis/Hemostasis (Clin Appl Thromb Hemost) 2020 Jan-Dec Vol. 26 Pg. 1076029620945792 ISSN: 1938-2723 [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 33063530 (Publication Type: Journal Article)

Topics

• Aged
• Decision Making (physiology)
• Humans
• Middle Aged
• Registries
• Risk Factors
• Venous Thromboembolism (prevention & control)