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In phlebology, an anticoagulant treatment is usually called for in the fight against thrombosis. The favourable short-term development of most phlebites means that an anticoagulant treatment should not be used unless there are serious risks involved in the various complications observed. This treatment may therefore be used, on condition that diagnosis is certain, that the risks involved are serious enough; the least restrictive, least expensive form of treatment is preferable, provided that it is as effective, of course; the conditions of applications should be scrupulously upheld: no contraindications, the cooperation of the patient, quality of the biological controls etc. If these conditions are respected, the anticoagulant treatment combines efficiency and safety to a degree which places it foremost among anti-thrombotic methods, after physiotherapy.

Antivitamins K remain the anticoagulant of choice when treatment lasts several days, because they can be ingested orally, and they require relatively in frequent laboratory tests, and because of the absence of any superior haematological treatments for thrombosis. Physiological studies have explained the effects on the anticoagulant action of the antivitamins K, of imbalance of the intestinal microbial flora and of pathological changes in diuresis. This knowledge is indispensable for national treatment. Surveillance by means of laboratory tests remains indispensable but continues to pose practical problems, as non-specialized biologists have difficulty in achieving the necessary basic conditions (quality of venous puncture, control and test...). Determination of the Quick time remains the most practical method. Laboratory determination of the different constituents of the prothrombin complex makes it possible to regulate perfectly the treatment with antivitamins K of a patient who is also receiving heparin.