Green-top Guideline No. 37a April 2015
(NICE) estimates that low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH) reduces VTE risk in medical and surgical patients by 60% and 70% respectively.
The UK incidence of antenatal PE calculated in the UKOSS study is 1.3 per 10000 maternities.
relative risk of VTE in pregnancy is increased four- to six-fold8,9 and this is increased further
postpartum.
The absolute risk is low with an overall incidence of VTE in pregnancy and the puerperium
of 1–2 per 1000.
Absolute incidence of VTE in pregnancy and the puerperium is 107 per 100000
person-years (95% CI 93–122 per 100000 person-years) in the UK.
The relative risk postpartum is five-fold higher
compared to antepartum8
and a systematic review of risk of postpartum VTE found that the risk varied
from 21- to 84-fold from the baseline nonpregnant.
The absolute risk peaked in the first 3 weeks postpartum (421 per 100000
person-years; 22-fold increase in risk).
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