Risk factors and predictors for recurrent venous thrombosis : building blocks for a prognostic model

Abstract

Secondary prevention of recurrent venous can be achieved in two ways, either by elimination of modifiable risk factors or by extending the anticoagulant treatment period in patients at high risk of recurrence. The aim of this thesis was to identify modifiable risk factors for as well as factors that might be able to predict recurrent venous thrombotic events. This thesis reports on an increased risk of recurrences in women who continue or start using hormonal contraceptives after a first venous thrombotic event, suggesting that refraining from this modifiable risk factor decreases the risk of recurrence. Furthermore, this thesis describes several factors, male sex, unprovoked first event, levels of coagulation factor VIII and antibiotic use to be associated with recurrent venous thrombosis. These factors should eventually be taken together and used to build a prognostic model, which will be able to predict recurrences at a refined and individual level.