CLINICAL UPDATE In Vitro Fertilization Increases Risk of Embolism By Jamie Habib | June 3, 2013 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In vitro fertilization (IVF) is associated with an increased risk of venous thromboembolism and pulmonary embolism, especially during the first trimester, according to the results of a population-based cross-sectional study of women who had given birth after IVF in Sweden.1 Venous thromboembolism is the leading cause of maternal mortality in the United States.2 In spontaneous pregnancies, the risk of venous thromboembolism is increased; the risk is even greater for pregnant women with a family history of thrombosis or thrombophilia. Reports of venous thromboembolism, most classically presenting as a deep vein thrombosis, occur more often in pregnancies resulting from IVF compared with naturally occurring pregnancies, but little is known about the risk of pulmonary embolism in women undergoing in vitro fertilization. To better understand how IVF is associated with venous thromboembolism and, subsequently, pulmonary embolism, researchers from Sweden compared the risk of these vascular events in 23,498 women who gave birth after IVF between 1990 and 2008 and 116,960 women with natural pregnancies matched for maternal age and calendar year of delivery to the women in the IVF group. The incidence of venous thromboembolism was 4.2 per 1000 women who underwent IVF and 2.5 per 1000 women who had a naturally occurring pregnancy. Throughout the pregnancy, the risk of venous thromboembolism was higher after IVF (hazard ratio, 1.8; P
Posted on: Sun, 09 Jun 2013 01:57:25 +0000
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