Potential role of Factor V Leiden mutation in adverse pregnancy outcomes: An updated systematic review

Abstract

Background: Thrombophilia is an inherited or acquired predisposition for development of thrombosis. One of the common thrombophilia polymorphisms is Factor V Leiden (FVL) mutation, which may contribute to negative pregnancy outcomes. This systematic review study seeks to describe the potential effects of factor V Leiden mutation on adverse pregnancy outcomes. Methods: Pubmed, Embase, ISI Web of Sciences, Scopus, ScienceDirect, Proquest and Google Scholar, for articles published during 1996-2017. Articles were evaluated by the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) checklist for standard reporting. As well, the quality of studies was assessed by the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS). Results: A total of 14 studies were eligible based on the inclusion criteria. The papers were scored by the STROBE checklist. The range of STROBE score was 15-20. Only 37.5% of the studies confirmed the relationship between fetal loss and FVL. The effect of FVL mutation on spontaneous abortions and In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) failures was demonstrated in all the studies. In the reviewed studies, there was no observed relationship between FVL mutation with intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), preeclampsia, placental abruption or small for gestational age (SGA). Conclusion: The reviewed studies showed an unclear association between FVL mutation and stillbirth, IUGR, preeclampsia, or placental abruption. The exact effects of hereditary thrombophilia on pregnancy outcome is also still controversial. However, FVL mutation appeared to have an effect on spontaneous abortions and IVF failures. Therefore, screening patients for thrombophilic polymorphisms might be helpful.