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Published on: February 26, 2013
Does aspirin reduce recurrence after completing anticoagulant treatment for an idiopathic thromboembolic event?
Andrés Valenzuela1, Andrés Aizman2
1Programa de Salud Basada en Evidencia, Facultad de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile; Departamento de Medicina Interna, Facultad de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile. Address: Facultad de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Lira 63, Santiago Centro, Chile.
Abstract:
Idiopathic thromboembolic disease presents a high risk of recurrence. There is controversy about the effects of aspirin in reducing this risk after the completion of anticoagulant treatment. Searching in Epistemonikos database, which screens 30 databases, we identified four systematic reviews that together include two randomized trials. We combined the evidence using meta-analysis and generated a summary of findings table following the GRADE approach. We concluded that aspirin administered after having completed anticoagulation reduces the risk of recurrence, probably without importantly increasing the risk of hemorrhage.
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