24 Jul Pregnancy-Related Hospitalizations – Venous Thromboembolism Rates
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Sheree Boulet, DrPH, MPH
Assisted Reproductive Technology Surveillance and Research Team
Women’s Health and Fertility Branch
Division of Reproductive Health
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study?
Dr. Boulet: Between 1994-2009, the rate of pregnancy-related hospitalizations with venous thromboembolism (VTE) increased by 14%. We also found that the prevalence of hypertension, obesity, diabetes, and heart disease increased over the same time period for pregnancy hospitalizations with VTE.
MedicalResearch.com: Were any of the findings unexpected?
Dr. Boulet: We evaluated temporal trends according to type of pregnancy hospitalization (e.g., antepartum, delivery, postpartum) and found that, after adjusting for maternal socio-demographic and medical characteristics, a temporal increase in the likelihood of VTE diagnosis during pregnancy was only observed for antepartum hospitalizations. This may indicate that co-morbid conditions confer varying degrees of risk for VTE across the different periods of pregnancy.
MedicalResearch.com: What should clinicians and patients take away from your report?
Dr. Boulet: VTE is a serious concern and an important cause of pregnancy-related complications in the U.S. Clinicians who care for pregnant women should be aware of these risks and should have a low threshold to evaluate anyone with symptoms.
MedicalResearch.com: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this study?
Dr. Boulet: Our study used hospital discharge data to identify VTE-associated pregnancy hospitalizations. Future studies with clinically validated VTE diagnoses observed in inpatient and outpatient settings are needed to confirm our findings and further explore the potential interaction between comorbid conditions and varying VTE risk during the antepartum and postpartum periods.
Citation:
Trends in Venous Thromboembolism among Pregnancy-Related Hospitalizations, United States, 1994–2009
Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2013 Jun 26. pii: S0002-9378(13)00655-8. doi: 10.1016/j.ajog.2013.06.039. [Epub ahead of print]
Ghaji N, Boulet SL, Tepper N, Hooper WC.
Division of Blood Disorders, National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA.
Last Updated on July 24, 2013 by Marie Benz MD FAAD