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Thrombosis

Duration of anticoagulation after VTE: guided by ultrasound?

Patients with venous thromboembolism receive anticoagulants after a thrombotic episode, usually for a fixed period. Discontinuing treatment could lead to recurrence, but prolonged therapy can cause serious bleeding. Ideally, treatment duration should be tailored to individual patients but can this be achieved with ultrasonography, as proposed by the AESOPUS group?

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Figure 1: Comprehensive approach to tailor duration of anticoagulant treatment following a first venous thromboembolic event using clinical variables (tentative).

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Correspondence to Henri Bounameaux.

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Bounameaux, H., Righini, M. Duration of anticoagulation after VTE: guided by ultrasound?. Nat Rev Cardiol 6, 499–500 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrcardio.2009.116

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