Pregnant, Ill, and Now a Clot?

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is one of the leading causes of maternal death in developed countries, but risk factors for antepartum VTE are not fully understood.

In an analysis of data from some 300,000 Danish births from 2003 through 2010, investigators found that VTE complicated 1.1 per 1000 pregnancies. In addition to known risk factors (e.g., overweight, history of VTE), hyperemesis gravidarum and use of benzodiazepines were associated with excess risk for antepartum VTE.

In another study, U.K. researchers linked two national longitudinal databases in primary care and hospital admissions to assess the effects of hospitalization during pregnancy on VTE risk. Among 246,000 pregnancies, 18% of women required hospitalization; 22% of these hos…