Baseline characteristics of the study patients
| Characteristics, n (%) . | All patients included in the study n = 778∗ . | Patients treated with 2.5 mg BID apixaban (positive D-dimer), n = 446 (60.9) . | Patients who stopped treatment (negative D-dimer), n = 286 (39.1) . | P value <.0001 . |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Male sex, n (%) | 491 (63.1) | 315 (70.6) | 148 (51.9) | <.0001 |
| Age (y), median (IQR) | 59 (48-67) | 63 (54-69) | 51 (42-61) | <.0001 |
| <51 y, n (%) | 244 (31.4) | 87 (19.5) | 138 (48.2) | <.0001 |
| 51-74 y, n (%) | 534 (68.6) | 359 (80.5) | 148 (51.8) | <.0001 |
| Type of index VTE, n (%) | ||||
| Proximal DVT with/without PE | 597 (76.7) | 355 (79.6) | 206 (72.0) | .0178 |
| Isolated PE | 179 (23.0) | 90 (20.2) | 79 (27.7) | .0190 |
| Missing | 2 (0.3) | 1 (0.2) | 1 (0.3) | — |
| Type of risk factors, n (%) | ||||
| Unprovoked | 588 (75.6) | 370 (83.0) | 185 (64.7) | <.0001 |
| Weak risk factors | 190 (24.4) | 76 (17.0) | 101 (35.3) | <.0001 |
| Minor surgery | 16 | 7 | 9 | — |
| Pregnancy or puerperium | 4 | 0 | 3 | — |
| Hormonal therapy | 79 | 20 | 56 | <.0001 |
| Long travel | 16 | 12 | 2 | — |
| Minor trauma, leg injury | 30 | 15 | 12 | — |
| Reduced mobility | 18 | 7 | 10 | — |
| Hospitalization in a medical ward | 3 | 1 | 2 | — |
| Other diseases | 24 | 14 | 7 | — |
| Anticoagulant drugs used before inclusion | ||||
| VKAs, n (%)† | 68 (8.7) | 42 (9.4) | 23 (8.0) | .5156 |
| DOACs, n normal or low dose (%) | 559 or 151 (91.3) | 305 or 99 (90.6) | 220 or 43 (92.0) | — |
| Apixaban 5 mg or 2.5 mg BID | 149 or 95 (31.4) | 79 or 66 (32.5) | 62 or 27 (31.1) | .6921 |
| Dabigatran 150 mg or 110 mg BID | 80 or 9 (11.4) | 44 or 7 (11.4) | 29 or 1 (10.5) | .7049 |
| Edoxaban 60 mg or 30 mg OID | 112 or 15 (16.4) | 65 or 6 (15.9) | 41 or 7 (16.8) | .7476 |
| Rivaroxaban 20 mg or 10 mg mg OID | 218 or 32 (32.1) | 117 or 20 (30.8) | 88 or 8 (33.6) | .4281 |
| Duration of prior anticoagulant treatment, n (%) | ||||
| 12-18 mo | 583 (74.9) | 319 (71.5) | 230 (80.4) | .0067 |
| >18 mo | 195 (25.1) | 127 (28.5) | 56 (19.6) | .0067 |
| Total duration of follow-up, y | 897 | 533 | 336 | — |
| up to 6 mo, n (%) | 119 (15.3) | 54 (12.1) | 42 (14.7) | .3096 |
| 7-12 mo, n (%) | 161 (20.7) | 95 (21.3) | 56 (19.6) | .5795 |
| 13-18 mo, n (%) | 498 (64.0) | 297 (66.6) | 188 (65.7) | .8018 |
| Median follow-up, median (IQR) | 1.35 (0.73-1.64) | 1.41 (0.77-1.64) | 1.37 (0.77-1.64) | .9621 |
| Associated antiplatelet treatment, n (%) | 26 (3.3) | 19 (4.3) | 5 (1.7) | .0543 |
| Characteristics, n (%) . | All patients included in the study n = 778∗ . | Patients treated with 2.5 mg BID apixaban (positive D-dimer), n = 446 (60.9) . | Patients who stopped treatment (negative D-dimer), n = 286 (39.1) . | P value <.0001 . |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Male sex, n (%) | 491 (63.1) | 315 (70.6) | 148 (51.9) | <.0001 |
| Age (y), median (IQR) | 59 (48-67) | 63 (54-69) | 51 (42-61) | <.0001 |
| <51 y, n (%) | 244 (31.4) | 87 (19.5) | 138 (48.2) | <.0001 |
| 51-74 y, n (%) | 534 (68.6) | 359 (80.5) | 148 (51.8) | <.0001 |
| Type of index VTE, n (%) | ||||
| Proximal DVT with/without PE | 597 (76.7) | 355 (79.6) | 206 (72.0) | .0178 |
| Isolated PE | 179 (23.0) | 90 (20.2) | 79 (27.7) | .0190 |
| Missing | 2 (0.3) | 1 (0.2) | 1 (0.3) | — |
| Type of risk factors, n (%) | ||||
| Unprovoked | 588 (75.6) | 370 (83.0) | 185 (64.7) | <.0001 |
| Weak risk factors | 190 (24.4) | 76 (17.0) | 101 (35.3) | <.0001 |
| Minor surgery | 16 | 7 | 9 | — |
| Pregnancy or puerperium | 4 | 0 | 3 | — |
| Hormonal therapy | 79 | 20 | 56 | <.0001 |
| Long travel | 16 | 12 | 2 | — |
| Minor trauma, leg injury | 30 | 15 | 12 | — |
| Reduced mobility | 18 | 7 | 10 | — |
| Hospitalization in a medical ward | 3 | 1 | 2 | — |
| Other diseases | 24 | 14 | 7 | — |
| Anticoagulant drugs used before inclusion | ||||
| VKAs, n (%)† | 68 (8.7) | 42 (9.4) | 23 (8.0) | .5156 |
| DOACs, n normal or low dose (%) | 559 or 151 (91.3) | 305 or 99 (90.6) | 220 or 43 (92.0) | — |
| Apixaban 5 mg or 2.5 mg BID | 149 or 95 (31.4) | 79 or 66 (32.5) | 62 or 27 (31.1) | .6921 |
| Dabigatran 150 mg or 110 mg BID | 80 or 9 (11.4) | 44 or 7 (11.4) | 29 or 1 (10.5) | .7049 |
| Edoxaban 60 mg or 30 mg OID | 112 or 15 (16.4) | 65 or 6 (15.9) | 41 or 7 (16.8) | .7476 |
| Rivaroxaban 20 mg or 10 mg mg OID | 218 or 32 (32.1) | 117 or 20 (30.8) | 88 or 8 (33.6) | .4281 |
| Duration of prior anticoagulant treatment, n (%) | ||||
| 12-18 mo | 583 (74.9) | 319 (71.5) | 230 (80.4) | .0067 |
| >18 mo | 195 (25.1) | 127 (28.5) | 56 (19.6) | .0067 |
| Total duration of follow-up, y | 897 | 533 | 336 | — |
| up to 6 mo, n (%) | 119 (15.3) | 54 (12.1) | 42 (14.7) | .3096 |
| 7-12 mo, n (%) | 161 (20.7) | 95 (21.3) | 56 (19.6) | .5795 |
| 13-18 mo, n (%) | 498 (64.0) | 297 (66.6) | 188 (65.7) | .8018 |
| Median follow-up, median (IQR) | 1.35 (0.73-1.64) | 1.41 (0.77-1.64) | 1.37 (0.77-1.64) | .9621 |
| Associated antiplatelet treatment, n (%) | 26 (3.3) | 19 (4.3) | 5 (1.7) | .0543 |
BID, bis intraday; OID, once intraday.
Including patients who did not complete the D-dimer procedure (25), those with D-dimer results that were not correctly evaluated by the investigators (11), who refused to stop anticoagulation (2), to resume anticoagulation (4), or decided to use a different drug than low-dose apixaban (4).
One subject received fondaparinux.