Annals of internal medicine
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In patients who have symptomatic deep venous thrombosis, the long-term risk for recurrent venous thromboembolism and the incidence and severity of post-thrombotic sequelae have not been well documented. ⋯ Patients with symptomatic deep venous thrombosis, especially those without transient risk factors for deep venous thrombosis, have a high risk for recurrent venous thromboembolism that persists for many years. The post-thrombotic syndrome occurs in almost one third of these patients and is strongly related to ipsilateral recurrent deep venous thrombosis. These findings challenge the widely adopted use of short-course anticoagulation therapy in patients with symptomatic deep venous thrombosis.