Conditions: Venous Thromboembolism
Keywords: D-dimer Recurrence Venous thromboembolism
Allocation: NON_RANDOMIZED | Intervention model: SINGLE_GROUP
Enrollment: 73
Healthy volunteers: no

Brief summary:
Optimal duration of oral anticoagulant therapy in patients with recurrent episodes of venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a matter of debate and recommendations are based on inadequate evidence. More than 12 months of treatment are currently recommended, and the grade of recommendation is low.

The PROLONG study has recently evaluated the predictive role of D-dimer measurement after withholding oral anticoagulant treatment in patients with a first episode of VTE. Patients with a positive D-dimer had a significantly higher incidence of VTE recurrences than patients with a negative D-dimer and required resumption of the antithrombotic treatment. Based on the results of this and of previous cohort studies, it appears safe to withhold treatment in patients with negative D-dimer values and to continue treatment in patients with altered D-dimer levels.

Aim of this study is therefore to assess the negative predictive value of D-dimer also in patients with recurrent VTE and to evaluate the clinical utility of this approach in this patient setting.

Detailed description:

Arms:

Interventions: intervention 1: Warfarin
Intervention descriptions: intervention 1: tablets, based on INR levels, according to D-dimer levels

Protocol document: