The INR level was between 1.9 and 2.5 in Group I and between 2.6 and 3.5 in Group II. We classified the patients according to INR values. We standardized oral anticoagulant therapy for a 6-month period in all patients and followed them at our outpatient clinic with bleeding profile tests. For long-term anticoagulation we used the same drug (coumadin) and monitored results as INR values. We combined low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH) with oral anticoagulants for the other patients and followed them in our outpatient clinic. Of this group, 42 (11.5%) were hospitalized for an average of 5.2 days and received intravenous (IV) heparin plus oral anticoagulants. We referred these patients to oncology clinics and limited our study population to the remaining 364 patients. We identified previously unrecognized neoplasms in 22 (5.6%) patients (Table (Table1). Abdominal ultrasonography was also used if indicated. To investigate for tumors and establish the diagnoses, we used chest radiographs and laboratory tests (erythrocyte sedimentation rate, C-reactive protein, complete blood count, urea, creatinine, serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase, serum glutamic pyruvic transaminase, gamma glutamyl transferase, alkaline phosphatase, bilirubin, electrophoresis, total protein, alpha fetoprotein, fibrinogen, cancer antigen 19-9, and in men prostate-specific antigen ). We excluded patients with superficial thrombophlebitis, thrombosis, and recurrent DVT. When admitted, no patients in the study group were known to have malignant disease as the etiologic factor of DVT. In all cases, the diagnosis of venous thromboembolism was confirmed by means of Doppler ultrasonography (USG). The average age of all patients was 52.3 years (range, 23–81 years). Between January, 1997 and January, 2003, 386 patients with a preliminary diagnosis of venous thromboembolism were admitted to the Cardiovascular Surgery Outpatient Clinic at Alsancak State Hospital.
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