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Venous thromboembolism prophylaxis in pregnancy: Are we adequately identifying and managing risks?
Author(s) -
Choy Kay Rui,
Emmett Shan,
Wong Audris
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
australian and new zealand journal of obstetrics and gynaecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.734
H-Index - 65
eISSN - 1479-828X
pISSN - 0004-8666
DOI - 10.1111/ajo.13579
Subject(s) - medicine , pregnancy , thrombophlebitis , venous thromboembolism , deep vein , pulmonary embolism , intensive care medicine , thrombosis , risk assessment , risk factor , thrombophilia , venous thrombosis , obstetrics , surgery , genetics , computer security , computer science , biology
Pregnancy is a well‐known risk factor of venous thromboembolism. We retrospectively reviewed case histories of 82 pregnant women who developed symptoms of venous pathology, thrombophlebitis, deep vein thrombosis (DVT) or pulmonary embolus (PE) while receiving care at our hospital. We found the VTE risk identification and documentation during their pregnancies were deficient resulting in the omission of appropriate thromboprophylaxis. Many confirmed VTE cases (antenatally or postpartum) were not on thromboprophylaxis prior to diagnosis despite having multiple risk factors. We recommend the use of a risk assessment tool by clinicians for accurate risk identification ensuring proper risk management at different stages of pregnancy.