Test for Risk for Recurring Blood Clots

A test that measures a certain protein involved with blood clotting may help determine whether patients may get another blood clot, says an Austrian study.

Anticoagulant treatment for patients with venous thromboembolism — formation of blood clots — often involving the deep veins of the legs or in the lung consists of heparin followed by vitamin K antagonists for at least three to six months.

After discontinuation of anti-coagulant treatment, one-third of patients experience recurrence of VTE within the next five to eight years, according to background information in the article.

Dr. Gregor Hron of the Medical University of Vienna conducted a study to determine whether by measuring thrombin generation — a protein in blood that causes clotting — patients with VTE could be stratified into high- and low-risk categories for recurrence of VTE.

Using a simple commercially available laboratory method developed to measure thrombin generation, the researchers were able to identify patients in whom the long-term risk of recurrent VTE is almost negligible, according to the study in the Journal of the American Medical Association.