“Deep vein thrombosis” or “DVT” is blood clots in the deep veins of the legs. “Pulmonary embolism” or “PE” is such a blood clot, but dislodged and traveling into the lungs. DVT and PE together are called “venous thromboembolism” or “VTE” in medicine. Venous thromboembolism (VTE) can be dangerous and sometimes even lead to death. One important goal of treatment in patients who had a VTE is to avoid a second VTE.
In 2015, it was shown that taking medicinal drugs (these are “anticoagulants”, “blood thinners”) to prevent a second venous thromboembolism (VTE) for 6 months is not enough. 2 years are better.
However, a test to select patients, the d-dimer test, retrievable inferior vena cava (IVC) filters, and a more intensive CT-based cancer screening/cancer diagnosis in patients with an unprovoked venous thromboembolism (VTE) did not work.