The effi cacy population was defi ned a priori as all
randomly assigned patients who had taken one or more
dose of study medication; had proven deep vein
thrombosis or pulmonary embolism, or both; or had
one or more contrast venography or ultrasonography
assessment for venous thromboembolism during the
study treatment period (10 days [range 6–14]). Venous
thromboembolism assessment was allowed up to 72 h
after the end of treatment; therefore, 17 days was the
maximum time allotted for the fi nal assessment. The
primary outcome was also analysed in a per-protocol
effi cacy population consisting of all effi cacy population
patients who had no major protocol violations. The
safety population included all patients who had taken
one or more dose of study medication.