Now researchers can predict venous thromboembolism

In a collaborative study between the Karolinska Institutet and Nottingham University, Great Britain, researchers have developed and validated a risk prediction model for venous thromboembolism in the first six weeks after delivery (early postpartum).

The research was led by postdoc Alysha Abdul Sultan at Keele University, UK and supervised by senior researcher professor Jonas F Ludvigsson at Karolinska Institutet, Sweden. In this study the team tested risk prediction models for venous thromboembolism in 430,000 deliveries in England and 660,000 delivers in Sweden.

"For each 10,000 deliveries there were seven to eight cases of venous thromboembolisms in the mother. Among risk factors were emergency caesarean delivery, stillbirth, varicose veins, pre-eclampsia/eclampsia, postpartum infection, and comorbidities," professor Ludvigsson says.

The new prediction model of the researchers identifies a larger proportion of thromboembolic events than existing models in both England and Sweden. The lead researcher Abdul Sultan is currently developing a PC-based software for use in the clinical practice to predict venous thromboembolism.