Thrombosis prophylaxis after treatment during pregnancy.

Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is not a rare occurrence during pregnancy and puerperium due to changes in the coagulation mechanism. Eighteen cases with DVT during pregnancy are presented here. All of them received subcutaneous heparin for two weeks at a dose adjusted so as to prolong the activated partial thromboplastin time, or plasma recalcification time, to twice that of normal controls. Treatment continued with low molecular weight heparin (LMWH), once daily subcutaneously, for the duration of pregnancy and for one month postpartum. All women went into labor uneventfully, except for one who had a missed abortion during the 10th week. No side-effects were observed. LMWH has some advantages compared with standard heparin, which make it the treatment of choice for the prevention of thromboembolic events in pregnant women.