| Abstract: | 67 patients with prosthetic valvular replacement have been followed up for a period ranging from 6 months to 9 1/2 years; the overall number of valves was: 53 mitral, 24 aortic, 10 tricuspid valves. The average age of our patients was young (23.6 years). Many patients, because of their age or by lack of discipline or because of their social condition, had an inefficient anticoagulant treatment; they were subdivided into three groups. Those who stopped their anticoagulant treatment 6, those treatment was inefficient 25; in these two groups, no thrombo-embolic accident was noted, those whose treatment was efficient with a prothrombin time permanently lower than or equal to 40%: 36. It is in this very series that three cases of thrombosis occurred, two of which were lethal. Thus, although the indication for an anticoagulant treatment in patients with prosthetic valvar replacement remains indisputable, one may wonder, in front of such results, if there are not other factors, besides anticoagulant treatment, that result in thrombo-embolic accidents. |
