The Risk of Fetal Loss in Family Members of Probands with Factor V Leiden Mutation

Daniela Tormene; Paolo Simioni; Paolo Prandoni; Sonia Luni; Barbara Innella; Paola Sabbion; Antonio Girolami

doi:10.1055/s-0037-1614367

Thrombosis and Haemostasis, Table of Contents

Thromb Haemost 1999; 82(04): 1237-1239
DOI: 10.1055/s-0037-1614367

Review Article

Schattauer GmbH

The Risk of Fetal Loss in Family Members of Probands with Factor V Leiden Mutation

Daniela Tormene

¹From the Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of Padua Medical School, Padua, Italy

,

Paolo Simioni

¹From the Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of Padua Medical School, Padua, Italy

,

Paolo Prandoni

¹From the Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of Padua Medical School, Padua, Italy

,

Sonia Luni

¹From the Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of Padua Medical School, Padua, Italy

,

Barbara Innella

¹From the Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of Padua Medical School, Padua, Italy

,

Paola Sabbion

¹From the Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of Padua Medical School, Padua, Italy

,

Antonio Girolami

¹From the Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of Padua Medical School, Padua, Italy

› Author Affiliations

Abstract

Summary

In order to investigate the risk of fetal loss in carriers of factor V Leiden who are family members of probands with this mutation, we performed a retrospective cohort study including 109 women who had been pregnant at least once and were family members of 61 probands with venous thromboembolism and a single identified factor V Leiden mutation. The rate of pregnancies ending in unexplained fetal loss, early miscarriage, late miscarriage or stillbirth in women with the factor V Leiden was compared with that of women with normal genotype. In the 65 women who were carriers of factor V Leiden 31 of the 191 pregnancies (16.2% per pregnancy ) resulted in unexplained fetal loss, as compared to 13 of the 121 pregnancies (10.7% per pregnancy) in the 44 non-carriers (relative risk, 1.5; 95% CI, 0.8-3.2). After the first trimester of pregnancy, 25 pregnancies (13.1% per pregnancy) among carriers of factor V Leiden ended in fetal loss, as compared to 7 (5.8% per pregnancy) among females with normal genotype (relative risk, 2.3; 95% CI, 1.01 to 5.1). We conclude that carriers of factor V Leiden who are family members of probands with this mutation have a statistically significant and clinically important risk of late miscarriage or stillbirth. Studies addressing the benefit-to-risk ratio of adopting routinary thromboprophylactic measures following the first trimester of pregnancy in these women are strongly indicated.

Full Text

References

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