ArticleResearch and practice in thrombosis and haemostasis2025
Pregnancy-associated venous thromboembolism in sub-Saharan Africa: a case-control study and descriptive analysis of clinical phenotypes.
Article in Research and practice in thrombosis and haemostasis, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Deep vein thrombosis as a public health priority: wHO's agenda for Africa 2030.Frontiers in cardiovascular medicine · 2026Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a leading cause of maternal mortality worldwide, yet data on pregnancy-associated VTE (PA-VTE) in sub-Saharan Africa remain limited. Objectives: This study aimed to identify clinical predictors and describe the phenotypic characteristics of PA-VTE in a Tanzanian referral setting. Methods: We conducted a retrospective case-control study at Muhimbili National Hospital from 2016 to 2024. Cases were pregnant or postpartum women (≤6 weeks) with objectively confirmed VTE. Controls were matched 1:2 on gestational stage. Due to sparse data in several matched sets, multivariable analysis was conducted using Firth penalized logistic regression to account for separation and small-sample bias. VTE cases were further characterized descriptively. Results: Of 321 women included (107 cases and 214 controls), independent predictors of PA-VTE were a history of VTE (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 122; 95% CI, 2.66-43,361), gross varicose veins (aOR, 31.5; 95% CI, 5.98-306), and stillbirth (aOR, 15.2; 95% CI, 1.75-213), with wide CIs reflecting small-sample sizes. DVT accounted for 73% of cases, predominantly proximal and left-sided. Pulmonary embolism was submassive or massive in over one-third of cases. Only 2.8% of women received any thromboprophylaxis-all postpartum-and thrombophilia testing was rarely performed (3.7%). Conclusion: Traditional risk factors-particularly prior VTE, varicose veins, and stillbirth-remain highly relevant in this setting. Uptake of antenatal thromboprophylaxis was very low, highlighting major care gaps. While causality cannot be inferred, these findings underscore the need for larger studies to confirm risk associations and provide foundational evidence. Interventions should focus on developing local guidelines, strengthening clinician awareness, and integrating context-specific risk assessment tools into obstetric care in sub-Saharan Africa.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.