Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is associated with significant morbidity and 
mortality. Factors such as the presence of transient risk factors for VTE, risk 
of bleeding, and location of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) determine the duration 
of anticoagulation. Extended anticoagulation is offered to patients with 
unprovoked pulmonary embolism (PE) or proximal DVT and a low risk of bleeding. 
Anticoagulation for 3 months is advised in patients with provoked DVT or PE, 
high risk of bleeding, and isolated distal or upper extremity DVT. In patients 
with unprovoked PE or proximal DVT and a low risk of bleeding, who want to stop 
anticoagulation after 3 months, further risk stratification is necessary. 
Clinical scoring system, and thrombophilia testing otherwise not routinely 
performed, may be considered to measure risk of annual recurrence in such cases. 
Short-term anticoagulation may be considered in subsegmental PE and superficial 
vein thrombosis, particularly if patients are at low risk of bleeding and have 
persistent risk factors for recurrent VTE. In cases of catheter-associated 
thrombosis, the catheter need not be removed routinely, and the patient may be 
anticoagulated for 3 months or longer if the catheter is maintained in patients 
with cancer. Extensive screening for occult cancer in cases of unprovoked VTE is 
not beneficial. New oral anticoagulants such as apixaban, rivaroxaban, or 
dabigatran may be preferred to vitamin K antagonists in patients without cancer 
or renal failure, more so after the development of reversal agents such as 
idarucizumab and andexanet alfa.