Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Which serologic and clinical findings predict adverse pregnancy outcome (APO) in patients with antiphospholipid antibody (aPL) is controversial.

METHODS:

PROMISSE is a multicenter, prospective observational study of risk factors for APO in patients with aPL (lupus anticoagulant [LAC], anticardiolipin antibody [aCL] and/or antibody to β(2) glycoprotein I [anti-β2-GP-I]). We tested the hypothesis that a pattern of clinical and serological variables can identify women at highest risk for APO.

RESULTS:

Between 2003 and 2011 we enrolled 144 pregnant patients, of whom 28 had APO. Thirty-nine percent of patients with LAC had APO, compared to 3% who did not have LAC (p < 0.0001). Only 8% of women with IgG aCL ≥40 u/mL but not LAC suffered APO, compared to 43% of those with LAC (p = 0.002). IgM aCL or IgG or IgM anti-β2-GP-I did not predict APO. In bivariate analysis, APO occurred in 52% of patients with and 13% of patients without prior thrombosis (p = 0.00005), and in 23% with SLE compared to 17% without SLE (not significant); SLE was a predictor in multivariate analysis. Prior pregnancy loss did not predict APO, nor did maternal race. Simultaneous aCL, anti-β2-GP-I, and LAC did not predict APO better than did LAC alone.

CONCLUSIONS:

LAC is the primary predictor of APO after 12 weeks gestation in aPL-associated pregnancies. ACL and anti-β2-GP-I, if LAC is not also present, do not predict APO.

Copyright © 2012 by the American College of Rheumatology.