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Point-Of-Care Ultrasound Screening for Proximal Lower Extremity Deep Venous Thrombosis
Published on: February 10, 2023
Family history for venous thromboembolism and the risk for recurrence
Gregor Hron1, Sabine Eichinger, Ansgar Weltermann
1Department of Internal Medicine I, Division of Angiology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
Purpose:
The relevance of a family history for venous thromboembolism with regard to the likelihood for recurrence is unknown.
Subjects And Methods:
We studied 826 patients for an average of 36 months after a first unprovoked venous thromboembolism and withdrawal of oral anticoagulation. Patients with cancer, lupus anticoagulant, or deficiency of antithrombin, protein C, or protein S were excluded. The study endpoint was objective evidence of recurrent symptomatic venous thromboembolism.
Results:
Recurrence for venous thromboembolism was recorded in 23 of 190 patients (12.1%) with a family history (at least one affected first-degree family member) and in 79 of 636 patients (12.4%) without familial thrombosis (relative risk for recurrence 1.0; 95% confidence interval, 0.7-1.6; P=.9). At 5 years, the likelihood for recurrence was 20% among patients with a family history for venous thromboembolism and 18% among those without a family history for venous thromboembolism (P=.9). Risk determinants for venous thromboembolism including factor V Leiden, factor II G20210A, and high factor VIII were not statistically different between the 2 groups.
Conclusion:
A family history for venous thromboembolism does not segregate patients into high- or low-risk categories and is not suitable to identify patients at increased risk for recurrent venous thromboembolism.
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