Treatment of Deep Vein Thrombosis in Pregnant Women: A Single Hospital Experience of 15 Cases

Abstract

We retrospectively investigated 15 pregnant women with DVT at our hospital since effective treatment of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is critical for preventing deaths from pulmonary thromboembolism (PTE). Ten of these cases experienced onset during pregnancy while 5 began postpartum. Anticoagulant therapy was chosen for 11 cases while an inferior vena cava filter (IVC-F) was used in 6. Although the retrieval of the filter was attempted in 3 of the 4 cases fitted with a retrievable IVC filter, it could not be removed in 2. There were 4 cases of DVT recurrence during the target period; the patient with antiphospholipid syndrome experienced a relapse of DVT in the contralateral lower limb one month after stopping an anticoagulant while the patient with popliteal vein DVT in early pregnancy experienced DVT recurrence postpartum resulting in PTE. The other 2 patients experienced DVT recurrence during subsequent pregnancies. All symptomatic DVT recurred when no anticoagulant therapy was given. It appears advantageous for those experiencing pregnancy-related DVT to receive anticoagulation therapy from the initial onset of symptoms to the end of the gestational period and throughout the entirety of any subsequent pregnancies. Furthermore, temporary filter usage is preferable due to better retrieval conditions.