THE PREVALENCE OF ANTIPHOSPHOLIPID ANTIBODIES IN WOMEN WITH REPRODUCTIVE FAILURE OR MAJOR ABRUPTIO PLACENTAE

The so-called antiphospholipid syndrome may be responsible for repeate d spontaneous abortion and fetal loss. We examined the plasma of 61 wo men with either reproductive failure or abruptio placentae for the pre sence of lupus anticoagulant and anticardiolipin antibodies in an atte mpt to assess the prevalence of this condition. No patient had haemato logical abnormalities consistent with the presence of lupus anticoagul ant. However, 6 women had anticardiolipin antibodies with normal coagu lation tests. The clinical profile together with this laboratory findi ng allows us to diagnose the antiphospholipid syndrome in these patien ts. Our incidence is considerably lower than that reported in many oth er studies but does suggest a place for screening for this condition i n patients with recurrent complications of pregnancy.