摘要：This study aimed to explore the validity of the use of the net clinical benefit (NCB), i.e. the sum of major bleeding and thrombotic events, as a potential surrogate for all-cause mortality in clinical trials assessing antithrombotics. Published randomized controlled trials testing anticoagulants in the prevention or treatment of venous thromboembolism (VTE) and non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) were systematically reviewed. The validity of NCB as a surrogate endpoint was estimated by calculating the strength of correlation of determination (R
2) and its 95% confidence interval (CI) between the relative risks of NCB and all-cause mortality. Amongst the 125 trials retrieved, the highest R
2
trial values were estimated for NVAF (R
2
trial = 0.41, 95% CI [0.03; 0.48
