A 38-year-old grand multiparous pregnant woman in the United Arab Emirates presented to a secondary hospital in active labor at 38 weeks and two days of pregnancy. She visited the antenatal clinic just once during her entire pregnancy. Antenatally, her venous thromboembolism (VTE) risk assessment score was 2, and she was not started on thromboprophylaxis. Postnatally, she was due to receive a dose of low molecular weight heparin at eight hours postpartum; however, just four hours after delivery, the patient had a cardiac arrest, and it was found by imaging studies that she had a pulmonary embolism. The patient was also found to have disseminated intravascular coagulation, which led to multiorgan failure. The patient passed away two days later. Factors such as a sedentary lifestyle, short inter-pregnancy intervals, and COVID-19 infections could be taken into consideration when screening for VTE risk.
Keywords: disseminated intravascular coagulation; pregnancy; puerperium; pulmonary embolism; venous thromboembolism.
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