Mesenteric vein thrombosis associated with oral contraceptive administration during pregnancy.

This paper reports the case of a 30-year old woman para 2 with mesenteric venous occlusion associated with inadvertent oral contraceptive (OC) use during pregnancy. The patient presented with vomiting diffuse abdominal pain and dysuria. Despite a 4 month history of amenorrhea the patient continued OC use (Ovral)(. Ultrasonography revealed a fetus of 14 weeks gestation. Despite treatment the patients condition deteriorated and thrombotic occlusion of the mesenteric veins with hemorrhagic infarction of the intestine was noted. A resection of the damaged small bowel was performed followed by an end to end enteroenterostomy. It is suggested that the hypercoagulable state normally found during pregnancy was aggravated in this case by the hormonal intake. In addition to OC use this patient had another risk factor for mesenteric venous thrombosis: heavy cigarette smoking. The risk of venous thromboembolic disease associated with OC use declines within 1 month to the level found among nonusers of OCs. Thus patients at risk of this condition (those who suffer from collagen disease or are obese and heavy smokers) should be advised to avoid pregnancy in the 1st month after OC discontinuance.