Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-t5tsf Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-13T05:18:56.790Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

10 - Thromboembolic disorders of pregnancy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 August 2009

Alexander Heazell
Affiliation:
University of Manchester
John Clift
Affiliation:
City Hospital, Birmingham
Mark Tindall
Affiliation:
Consultant in Anaesthesia, Dudley Group of Hospitals, Dudley, West Midlands, UK
Get access

Summary

Successive reports from the Confidential Enquiry into Maternal and Child Health (CEMACH) have highlighted failures in recognition of risk factors for venous thromboembolism (VTE) and provision of adequate prophylaxis. VTE is a significant cause of mortality and morbidity in pregnancy. There are two different manifestations of VTE - deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE). DVT organizes clots that occur in the venous system, usually in the large veins of the leg or pelvis. PE is a clot that causes occlusion of artery in the pulmonary circulation. The blockage of the artery can be caused by air, fat, amniotic fluid or blood clot. The accurate diagnosis of VTE requires both clinical assessment and objective testing. Spiral CT scan is used to identify PE. Both the prophylaxis and treatment of VTE can potentially have implications on the provision of regional anaesthesia or analgesia during labour and delivery.
Type
Chapter
Information
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2008

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Drife, J., Thrombosis and thromboembolism. In Confidential Enquiry into Maternal and Child Health: Why Mothers Die 2000–2002. (London: Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists Press, 2004) pp. 61–73.
Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists' Thromboembolic Disease in Pregnancy and the Puerperium: Acute Management. Guideline Number 28 (London: Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists Press, 2001).
Heit, J., Kobbervig, C., James, A.et al., Trends in the incidence of venous thromboembolism during pregnancy or postpartum: a 30-year population-based study. Ann. of Intern. Med. 143:10 (2005), 697–706.Google Scholar
Sumeja, A. Rashmi, Arora, M. and Agarwal, N., Deep Vein Thrombosis (Deep vein thrombosis) in Pregnancy. J. Indian Acad. Clin. Med., 2:4 (2001), 260–8.Google Scholar
C. Feied, Pulmonary embolism. eMedicine 2006. Available at www.emedicine.com.
Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists' Thromboprophylaxis During Pregnancy, Labour and After Normal Vaginal Delivery. Guideline Number 37 (London: Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists Press, 2004).
Tryba, M., Spinal anaesthesia in the heparinised patient. Int. Monitor Reg. Anaesth., 7:4 (1995), 3–6.Google Scholar
Moore, L., Amniotic fluid embolism. Emedicine 2005. Available at emedicine.com.Google Scholar
Yentis, S. M., Sudden obstetric collapse syndrome. Int. J. Obstet. Anesth., 8:4 (1999), 296.Google Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×