Evaluation of oral anticoagulation therapy: Rationale and design of the thrombEVAL study programme

Since decades, oral anticoagulation (OAC) with vitamin K antagonists (VKA) is an established therapy for both prevention and treatment of thromboembolism in daily clinical routine. Increasing life expectancy, demographic changes, and novel oral anticoagulants have led to an increasing complexity of medical therapy. However, data on quality and management of VKA therapy with phenprocoumon in current medical care are limited. Our aim is to investigate the quality of OAC with VKA in current health care and to evaluate the potential for improvements.The investigator-initiated thrombEVAL study programme comprises two cohorts of patients treated with vitamin K antagonists for oral anticoagulation…