Covidien Program Seeks to Increase Awareness of Pregnancy-Related VTE

June 27, 2012—Covidien (Mansfield, MA) announced the launch of its “1 in 1,000” campaign to help educate women about the risk of pregnancy-related venous thromboembolism (VTE). The company advised that the program's name, “1 in 1,000,” refers to the number of women who are likely to experience a potentially life-threatening VTE during pregnancy, delivery, or postpartum, including both deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism. The announcement was made at the annual meeting of the Association of Women's Health, Obstetric, and Neonatal Nurses held in National Harbor, Maryland on June 23-27, 2012.

According to Covidien, the “1 in 1,000” education and prevention program focuses on empowering healthcare professionals to take action against VTE. Developed in consultation with leading women's health experts, the program includes guidelines and materials on how to educate pregnant patients on the risks of VTE and highlights the importance of appropriate VTE risk assessment ant prevention protocols at hospitals and health systems. Additional program information and materials can be accessed on the program's Web site.

Covidien explained that the likelihood of VTE onset in pregnant women is heightened during delivery and the immediate postpartum period. Physiologic and anatomic changes during pregnancy increase a woman's risk for VTE, and having a cesarean delivery nearly doubles that risk. Among the other risk factors are personal or family history of clotting disorders, pregnancy-induced hypertension, age greater than 35, obesity, race, and smoking.

The company noted that the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists issued 2011 guidelines recommending prophylaxis and treatment for thromboembolic events in pregnancy, including the placement of pneumatic compression devices for all women undergoing cesarean delivery who are not already receiving another form of thromboprophylaxis.

“The increased incidence of VTE during pregnancy and the peripartum period warrants special consideration and preventive intervention,” commented Randall Kuhlmann, MD, in a press release. Dr. Kuhlmann is Director of the Maternal Fetal Medicine Section and Maternal Fetal Care Center at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin and Froedtert Hospital in Milwaukee. “As an obstetrician, it is my job to protect my patients from this preventable disease by facilitating education and following the recommended guidelines for prophylaxis.”

Covidien's President of Vascular Therapies, Stacy Enxing Seng, added, “Research shows that pregnant women are at four to five times' greater risk for developing a potentially life-threatening VTE than nonpregnant women. Our goal with this campaign is to help prevent these occurrences by opening the lines of communication between health care providers and their patients about the frequency and severity of this condition. Informed discussion, ongoing patient assessment, and preventive intervention may help save lives.”