Preventing Pregnancy Loss in Women with Antiphospholipid Antibody Syndrome

Women with the antiphospholipid antibody syndrome (APS) often experience repeated fetal loss. Use of aspirin and heparin (either unfractionated or low molecular weight) improves pregnancy outcomes for some patients with APS, but others continue to have miscarriages despite this treatment. Alternatively, high-dose steroids suppress antiphospholipid antibody titers but are associated with gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, and increased preterm delivery.

Now, investigators in the U.K. have evaluated the use of low-dose prednisolone (10 mg daily from the time of a positive pregnancy test to 14 weeks' gestation) in 18 women with APS and recurrent pregnancy losses. Patients also received aspirin and heparin, although these agents had previously …