Letter to the Editor

Prolonged Acenocoumarol Treatment in Patients with Venous Thromboembolic Disease from a Rural Area

Authors: José María Calvo-Romero, MD, Esther María Lima-Rodríguez, MD

Abstract

To the Editor:


The recent American College of Chest Physicians conference has recommended more prolonged periods of anticoagulant treatment in patients with venous thromboembolic disease (VTD).1 For example, it has suggested that patients with a first episode of idiopathic VTD be considered for indefinite anticoagulant treatment.1 However, the incidence of major hemorrhage is higher in the clinical practice than in clinical trials.2,3 We studied the outcomes in patients treated with acenocoumarol for more than 6 months in a series of consecutive outpatients with VTD from a rural Spanish area.

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References

1. Büller HR, Agnelli G, Hull RD, et al. Antithrombotic therapy for venous thromboembolic disease: the Seventh ACCP Conference on Antithrombotic and Thrombolytic Therapy. Chest 2004;126(3 Suppl):401S–428S.
 
2. Levine MN, Raskob G, Beyth RJ, et al. Hemorrhagic complications of anticoagulant treatment: the Seventh ACCP Conference on Antithrombotic and Thrombolytic Therapy. Chest 2004;126(3 Suppl):287S–310S.
 
3. McMahan DA, Smith DM, Carey MA, et al. Risk of major hemorrhage for outpatients treated with warfarin. J Gen Intern Med 1998;13:311–316.