The study compared 12,849 women admitted to hospital with pre-eclampsia during their pregnancy with 284,188 controls. All women were observed for up to three years after discharge from hospital.
Venous thromboembolism was more common in the pre-eclampsia group than in any of the control groups. Women with pre-eclampsia were more than twice as likely to be admitted to hospital with venous thromboembolism during the observation period.
The absolute risk increase with pre-eclampsia is too small to warrant preventive treatment for such patients, say the authors. Instead, the signs and symptoms of venous thromboembolism should be reviewed with women who develop or have had pre-eclampsia so that they can seek appropriate medical care if the need arises.