Lisa Leffert, MD

The focus of Dr. Leffert’s clinical research has been to distill the existing evidence on critical comorbidities of pregnancy, convene interdisciplinary, national expert taskforces, conduct systematic reviews, and to produce consensus recommendations for high risk obstetric patients. While she has published on other topics, she is best known for her work on the management of obstetric patients with neurologic comorbidities or complications. After her initial work highlighting stroke in pregnancy, she focused on ensuring appropriate access to neuraxial anesthesia in obstetric patients by providing the “best available evidence” and decision algorithms for providers. Through systematic literature reviews and modified-Delphi processes, she has developed a methodology for creating and disseminating well-informed, practical guidance that is utilized nationally and internationally, despite limited available data. The SOAP anticoagulation and neuraxial procedure consensus statement (lead author) and the ASRA guidelines are go-to resources nationally and internationally. I recently initiated and led a similar joint venture between SOAP, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), the Society for Maternal Fetal Medicine (SMFM), the American Society of Hematology (ASH) and ASRA on neuraxial procedures in thrombocytopenic obstetric patients (senior author). During the COVID-19 pandemic, she led the creation of a 17 center SOAP COVID-19 Delivery Registry of which she is P.I., to track peripartum obstetric, neonatal and anesthetic outcomes for affected parturients, a cohort with respiratory compromise in whom neuraxial anesthesia is particularly important.