Long-term risk of venous thrombosis after stopping anticoagulants for a first unprovoked event: A multi-national cohort

Background Choosing short-term (3-6 months) or indefinite anticoagulation after a first unprovoked venous thromboembolic event (VTE) is a common and difficult clinical decision. The long-term absolute risk of recurrent VTE after a first unprovoked VTE, in all patients and sub-groups, is not well established, hindering decision making. Methods We conducted a multi-center multi-national prospective cohort study in first unprovoked VTE patients to establish the long-term risk of recurrent VTE after short-term anticoagulation in first unprovoked VTE patients (and sub-groups).We followed patients for symptomatic suspected VTE off of OAT. Suspected recurrent VTE was investigated with reference to baseline imaging and then independently and blindly adjudicated. Findings We recruited 663 participants between October, 2001 and March 2006 with the last follow-up in April 2014. During a mean 5.0 years of follow-up, 165/663 suspected VTE (in 408 patients) were adjudicated as recurrent VTE resulting in an annualized risk of recurrent VTE of 5.0% (95% CI: 4.2-5.8%) with a cumulative risk of 29.6% at 8 years. Men had a 7.6% (95% CI: 6.3-9.2%) annual risk of recurrent VTE. High risk women (2 or more HERDOO2 points; see text) had an annual risk of recurrent VTE of 5.9% (95% CI: 4.2-8.1%). Low risk women (1 or 0 HERDOO2 points) had 1.1% (95% CI: 0.6-2.0%) annual risk of recurrent VTE with a cumulative risk of 8.7% at 8 years. Interpretation Men and high risk women with unprovoked VTE should be considered for long-term anticoagulant therapy given a high risk of recurrent VTE after long-term follow-up. Women with a low HERDOO2 score may be able to safely discontinue anticoagulants. Funding This study was funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (Grant # MOP 64319) and Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario (Grant # NA 6771). Registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov