National Partnership for Maternal Safety: Consensus Bundle on Venous Thromboembolism

Area of Science:

• Obstetrics and Gynecology
• Hematology
• Patient Safety

Background:

• Obstetric venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a significant cause of maternal morbidity and mortality.
• Maternal deaths due to VTE are preventable, with thromboprophylaxis being a key intervention.
• Existing data suggest risk-factor-based prophylaxis effectively reduces obstetric VTE.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce a safety bundle for the systematic assessment and prevention of VTE in obstetric patients.
• To guide maternity units in implementing critical clinical practices for VTE risk reduction.
• To promote the routine use of pharmacologic and mechanical thromboprophylaxis based on risk assessment.

Main Methods:

• Development of a multidisciplinary safety bundle by the National Partnership for Maternal Safety.
• Organization of the bundle into four domains: Readiness, Recognition, Response, and Reporting and Systems Learning.
• Recommendation for routine VTE risk assessment and tailored thromboprophylaxis in obstetric care.

Main Results:

• The safety bundle provides a framework for critical clinical practices in maternity units.
• It supports the integration of risk assessment and thromboprophylaxis into routine obstetric care.
• Adaptation of bundle components is possible, but institutional standardization is encouraged.

Conclusions:

• Implementing a VTE safety bundle can systematically reduce maternal deaths.
• Routine risk assessment and appropriate thromboprophylaxis are crucial for obstetric patient safety.
• Standardized institutional adoption of the safety bundle is recommended for maximum impact.