Pulmonary embolism in pregnancy

摘要

Ghada Bourjeily and colleagues1 provide a synthesis of current knowledge on pulmonary embolism in pregnancy. We have some concerns about their statement that "pulmonary embolism is the leading cause of maternal mortality in the developed world", which, in our opinion, does not accord with the epidemiological evidence.The most recent report from the USA shows thatthrombotic embolism isthethird cause of maternal mortality after haemorrhage and hypertensive disorders. It is of major importance to differentiate amniotic fluid embolism from' thrombotic embolism-the focus of the paper by Bourjeily and colleagues-since these two disorders have different pathophysiologies and risk factors.