How to Treat quiz: Haematological complications of pregnancy

This education provides an overview of the haematological complications of pregnancy. Topic covered include the changes to blood cells, venous thromboembolism and anticoagulation, haemolytic disease of the newborn and haematological malignancies.

Total lecture hours:

1.00

Total contact hours:

1.00

Learning objective

On completion of this activity, the participant will be able to list the impact of pregnancy on the blood cells and the risk associated with these.

On completion of this activity, the participant will be able to describe the investigation and management of VTE in pregnancy.

On completion of this activity, the participant will be able to discuss the use of anticoagulants in pregnancy.

On completion of this activity, the participant will be able to implement screening in their practice to prevent haemolytic disease of the newborn.

Assessment info

Participants are required to complete an online form. This asks if each learning objective was met, if overall needs were met, and the relevance of the education to the participant’s practice.

Additional info

Many physiological changes occur during pregnancy. These include leucocytosis, increased plasma and red cell volume and thrombocytopaenia, with the latter affecting between 6.6% and 11.6% of pregnancies.

Thrombotic microangiopathies may lead to both life-threatening bleeding and thrombotic complications. Acute fatty liver of pregnancy AFLP is a rare condition with a maternal mortality rate of around 18%.

Pregnancy increases a woman’s risk of developing VTE five to six-fold compared to with age-matched controls. The risk of VTE is highest in the third trimester but remains elevated up to six weeks post-partum. DVT accounts for 80% of pregnancy related VTE events.

Haemolytic disease of the newborn is most likely to occur in mothers who are blood group O. The Rhesus (Rh) system classifies patients as positive or negative based on the expression of the D antigen. Approximately, one in seven women is Rh-negative.