Factor V Leiden Testing And Its Effects On Decision-Making: An Institutional Survey

Introduction: The incidence of factor V Leiden is documented to be around 5% in Caucasian population and is a known risk factor for venous thromboembolism (VTE). However, the incidence of recurrent VTE for heterozygous factor V Leiden mutation (FVL) is not significantly different from non-carriers. As per established guidelines, 3 months of anticoagulant treatment is enough in cases of provoked VTE, and does not require a hypercoagulability panel. Guidelines also dictate that in case of heterozygous factor V Leiden, there should be no change in duration of treatment for provoked VTE.