Retrospective evaluation of venous thromboembolism: Are all transient provoking events the same?

Abstract

Objectives: Venous thromboembolism (VTE) provoked by transient risk factors has traditionally been classified as a single entity with lower risk of recurrence. We evaluated the association between different categories of transient provoking factors and the relative risk of recurrence. Methods: Retrospective evaluation of VTE events in non-cancer patients from July 2011 to December 2012 at two tertiary institutions in Australia with a minimum follow-up of 24 months. Results: A total of 747 VTE cases were identified, and following exclusion of cases with mortality within 30 days of presentation (n=26), unprovoked cases (40.2%) had a higher risk of recurrence (4.6 vs 2.3/100 event-years, P=.01)..