Venous thromboembolism (VTE), comprising deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism, is a common disorder with at least 250,000 new events occurring each year in the United States alone. Treatment of VTE entails anticoagulation, which is achieved initially with the use of a parenterally administered anticoagulant followed by a more prolonged course of treatment with an oral vitamin K antagonist. The duration of anticoagulation depends on the clinical assessment of the benefit-risk ratio of prolonged anticoagulation versus the risk of recurrent events. In this review, we discuss some of the issues that we believe are among the most critical unanswered questions in the management of VTE in the present era
