TY - JOUR T1 - Risk of fatal pulmonary embolism was 0.49 per 100 person-years after discontinuing anticoagulant therapy for venous thromboembolism JF - Evidence Based Medicine JO - Evid Based Med SP - 154 LP - 154 DO - 10.1136/ebm.13.5.154 VL - 13 IS - 5 A2 - , Y1 - 2008/10/01 UR - http://ebm.bmj.com/content/13/5/154.abstract N2 - J D DouketisDr J D Douketis, St Joseph's Healthcare, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada; jdouket@mcmaster.caIn patients who have discontinued anticoagulant therapy after a first episode of venous thromboembolism (VTE), what is the risk of fatal pulmonary embolism (PE) and what is the case-fatality rate of recurrent VTE?Design:combined analysis of 2 inception cohorts followed for a mean 54 (range 1–120) months.Setting:3 hospitals in Italy (cohort study) and 16 centres in Sweden (randomised trial).Patients:1628 patients from the cohort study and 424 patients from the randomised trial (mean age 62 y, 53% women) who had completed ⩾3 (mean 6) months of anticoagulant therapy (unfractionated or low-molecular-weight heparin for 5–10 d, followed by a vitamin K antagonist) after a first episode of symptomatic, objectively confirmed VTE. Patients with active cancer, … ER -