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Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is common and has a high impact on morbidity, mortality, and costs of care. Sixty-four percent of cases with VTE are aged ≥ 65 years, making VTE essentially a disease of the elderly. Despite the significant public health impact of VTE in the elderly and the fact that VTE may have a less favourable course in elderly patients (e.g., higher rate of recurrence, bleeding, and mortality), older patients are underrepresented in randomized and nonrandomized prospective studies of VTE, and little is known about the factors that determine medical outcomes, quality of life, and costs of care in the elderly. To date, few studies have specifically examined the medical outcomes, quality of life, and economic outcomes in elderly patients with VTE, and the potential risks and benefits of recommended practices of care for VTE are uncertain in elderly patients. The few existing prospective VTE cohort studies are limited by the enrolment of patients from highly specialized anticoagulation clinics, thrombosis centers, or single university hospitals, the explicit exclusion of elderly patients, a limited follow-up duration, or the lack of inclusion of quality of life or cost measures.

Study objective

The broad objective of this multicenter, interdisciplinary prospective cohort study is to determine the predictors of clinically relevant medical outcomes, health-related quality of life, and costs of care among elderly patients with VTE.

Study design

A mininmum of 650 consecutive inpatients and outpatients aged ≥ 65 years with an objective diagnosis of VTE will be prospectively enrolled at 9 Swiss university and non-university hospitals and followed for up to 4 years. The primary outcome will be the rate of recurrent VTE.
Secondary outcomes will be major bleeding, overall mortality, and the development of the postthrombotic syndrome and chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension. We will also assess generic and disease-specific quality of life and costs of care during follow-up.