Secondary Prevention of Venous Thromboembolism with the Oral Direct Thrombin Inhibitor Ximelagatran

BACKGROUND: For many patients with venous thromboembolism, secondary prevention with vitamin K antagonists is not extended beyond six months, since the risk of recurrence may be outweighed by the risk of major bleeding. METHODS: In a double-blind, multicenter trial, we randomly assigned 1233 patients with venous thromboembolism who had undergone six months of anticoagulant therapy to extended secondary prevention with the oral direct thrombin …