Introduction:

The risk of developing venous thromboembolism (VTE) in women is 5 to 6 times higher during pregnancy. In addition, this risk can be significantly higher if the patient has a history or family history of hypercoagulate states. VTE is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in this population, so in order to assess if it is appropriate to use thromboprophylaxis during pregnancy, whether pharmacological or non-pharmacological, it is necessary to timely recognize the clinical risk factors associated with this condition.

Objective:

To describe the use, on the one hand, of screening tests for hypercoagulate states and, on the other, of pharmacological and non-pharmacological thromboprophylaxis to prevent the development of VTE during pregnancy, labor and the puerperium

Materials and methods:

A literature review was conducted in the Embase, ClinicalKey, ScienceDirect, Acces Medicine, Scopus, ProQuest, PubMed and LILACS databases. The search included studies on thrombophilia and thrombophylaxis during pregnancy published in English or Spanish between January 2004 and March 2018.

Results:

After completing the initial search, 126 studies were identified, of which 52 met the inclusion criteria. Most studies were narrative reviews (n = 15), systematic reviews (n = 8) and clinical practice guidelines (n=6).

Conclusion:

The use of screening tests for hypercoagulate states during pregnancy, labor and the puerperium is recommended, since the timely identification of VTE will allow the reduction of morbidity and mortality rates in this population through the implementation of thromboprophylactic measures, whether they are pharmacological or non-pharmacological.

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