Summary
The effect of phenformin and ethyloestrenol on the incidence of post-operative deep venous thrombosis was studied in 314 surgical patients in a double-blind randomised trial.
Although the laboratory tests suggested that the regime produced an increase in activators of the fibrinolytic system, the drugs used did not lower the incidence of post-operative deep venous thrombosis.
Possible explanations of this paradox are advanced.