What is the usual length of time for anticoagulation after a DVT?
In patients whose VTE is provoked by an identifiable and reversible factor (e.g., pregnancy, BCP’s, estrogen replacement, recent surgery, recent fracture, long distance air travel, prolonged hospitalization) the duration of therapy can be limited to three to six months. (Recent guidelines published in Chest (http://www.chestjournal.org/content/133/6_suppl) include the option of only three months of therapy for provoked P.E.) The problem arises in those whose VTE is seemingly unprovoked, or in whom the provocative factor may be a little iffy. These are the patients who deserve a work-up for underlying hypercoagulable state, and who may also benefit from prolonged warfarin therapy, perhaps even lifelong in duration.
