Three studies published in the New England Journal of Medicine provide important new information about the risks and benefits of extended prophylaxis using two of the new oral anticoagulants in patients who have had venous thromboembolism (VTE).
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In an accompanying editorial, Jean Connors writes that “deciding how to balance the risks and benefits of extended anticoagulation is difficult” in patients with unprovoked VTE, since the risk of recurrent VTE may reach 40% at 5 years. Patients at low-to-moderate risk of recurrence may benefit from aspirin, which “may be safer than the newer agents,” though “it appears to have less efficacy in reducing recurrent events.” For patients at higher risk, “the new targeted anticoagulants are attractive alternatives to warfarin. The finding that a low prophylactic dose of apixaban has the same efficacy as the full therapeutic dose, with no increased risk of major bleeding, may tip the risk-to-benefit ratio in favor of extended treatment for this patient population. The wide therapeutic window of this agent enables use of a lower dose that retains great efficacy with no or only a minimal increase in bleeding.”
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