Clinical features of maternal pulmonary thromboembolism: analysis of 16 cases / 中华围产医学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To summarize the clinical features, pregnancy outcomes, and treatment strategies of pulmonary thromboembolism (PTE) in pregnant women and puerperae.Methods:Clinical data of 16 pregnant women or puerperae with PTE who were admitted to Beijing Anzhen Hospital from January 2012 to December 2022 were retrospectively collected. Descriptive statistical analysis was used to summarize the clinical features, treatment strategies, and pregnancy outcomes in these cases.Results:The average age of the 16 patients was (29.6±3.5) years (26-35 years) and the median onset time was 12 weeks (7-38 weeks) of gestation in six pregnant women and 4 d (16 h-40 d) after delivery in ten puerperae. There were two cases of high-risk type; nine cases of medium-risk type (six of medium-high risk and three of medium-low risk); and five cases of low-risk type. Definite high-risk factors were detected in four pregnant women (venous thromboembolism risk score ≤2) and nine puerperae (venous thromboembolism risk score of 2-9). None of the six pregnant women had any indications for preventive anticoagulant therapy and nine puerperae had indications but without preventive therapy. All the patients were treated with low molecular weight heparin and sequential administration of warfarin/rivaroxaban, in addition to that, two high-risk patients also received thrombolytic therapy. After therapy, all pregnant women terminated their pregnancies in time and then continued to receive anticoagulation treatment. All 16 patients survived. Among the six pregnant women, five who developed PTE in the first or second trimester underwent iatrogenic termination of pregnancy, and one who developed PTE in the third trimester gave live birth. Among the 10 puerperae, one had PTE after the termination of pregnancy in the second trimester due to intrauterine fetal death; one developed PTE after abortion in the first trimester; the other eight cases developed PTE after cesarean section in the third trimester, with all newborns surviving.Conclusions:Pregnant women and puerperae are at high risk of PTE and most have high-risk factors. Therefore, more attention should be paid to the screening of high-risk factors and the initiation of preventive anticoagulant therapy. Maternal outcomes are good after PTE treatment, but fetal outcomes depend on the time of onset.