The incidence of deep vein thrombosis in women undergoing cesarean delivery.

INTRODUCTION

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is one of the leading causes of maternal mortality in the United States. Cesarean delivery is a known risk factor. This study was to determine the incidence of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) post cesarean delivery.

MATERIALS AND

METHODS

This was a prospective cohort study where two patients having undergone cesarean delivery each day were randomly selected. A lower extremity compression ultrasound was performed prior to hospital discharge. If no DVT was detected, participants were asked to return for a second ultrasound two weeks postpartum. Participants were also telephone-interviewed at three months for reported VTE.

RESULTS

Of the 194 patients who consented to study participation, only one participant developed DVT after cesarean delivery, giving an overall incidence of 0.5% (95% CI, 0.1 to 2.8%). There were no DVT identified on the second ultrasound nor VTE reported 3 months postpartum.

CONCLUSIONS

We found the DVT rate after cesarean delivery to be 0.5%.