Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-4rdpn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-15T03:21:58.780Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Chapter 15 - Thrombosis, air travel and early pregnancy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 October 2010

Roy G. Farquharson
Affiliation:
University of Liverpool
Mary D. Stephenson
Affiliation:
University of Chicago
Get access

Summary

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) has a multifactorial pathogenesis involving genetic predisposition, acquired diseases and conditions, and lifestyle and environmental factors. Although the level of risk of VTE associated with air travel has been exaggerated through sensationalized reporting in the mass media, it has nevertheless been established now that long-haul flights represent a risk factor for deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism, including fatal events. Potentially effective measures to reduce the risk of travel-related VTE include enhanced mobility, use of graduated compression hosiery and pharmacological interventions. Low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) is effective in reducing the incidence of VTE post-operatively (by 50-60%) as well as in hospitalized subjects more generally, with little increased risk of bleeding. Based on the low absolute risk of travel-related VTE in the overwhelming majority of women during early pregnancy, pharmacological thromboprophylaxis with LMWH can be justified.
Type
Chapter
Information
Early Pregnancy , pp. 143 - 150
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2010

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×