FRIDAY, Sept. 3 (HealthDay News) -- Individuals with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) who have had a venous thromboembolism (VTE) have a higher risk of having a recurrence than those with a prior VTE but no IBD, according to a study in the September issue of Gastroenterology.
Gottfried Novacek, M.D., of the Medical University of Vienna in Austria, and colleagues assessed the recurrence of VTE in 86 IBD patients who had a prior unprovoked (that is, not caused by trauma, surgery, or pregnancy) VTE. The group was compared to a control group of 1,255 subjects without IBD who also had a first unprovoked VTE. The study end point was symptomatic recurrent VTE following discontinuation of anticoagulation therapy begun with the initial VTE.
The researchers estimated that the odds for VTE recurrence five years after discontinuation of anticoagulation therapy was higher for patients with IBD than for patients without IBD (33.4 versus 21.7 percent). After adjusting for age, sex, duration of anticoagulation, and other variables, the risk of VTE recurrence was increased further for those with IBD (hazard ratio, 2.5).
"What are the clinical implications of our findings? Patients with IBD and VTE are at high risk of recurrent VTE. Recurrence can be prevented by anticoagulant therapy, although at the price of increased bleeding risk. Deciding on the optimal duration of anticoagulation entails balancing the risk of recurrence and risk of bleeding during anticoagulation," the authors write.
Abstract
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