Prevalence of lupus anticoagulant in women with spontaneous abortion in Zaria.

INTRODUCTION: Spontaneous abortion (SA) is a common complication of pregnancy. Presence of lupus anticoagulant (LA), one of the antiphospholipid antibodies, has been associated with SA in many studies, especially in Caucasians. This study was carried out to determine the prevalence of LA in women with SA in ABUTH, Zaria.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cohort of 100 consecutive women presenting with SA with no history of thrombotic episodes were enrolled into the study. Prothrombin time (PT), kaolin clotting time (KCT), and activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) were conducted on samples of all the participants. Eight patients had prolonged APTT, and after a 50:50 mixture of their plasma with pooled control plasma, four (50%) had uncorrected APTT. Staclot® (a hexagonal-phase phospholipid) test and calculated Rosner index for prolonged KCT were used for the confirmation of LA in samples with uncorrected APTT after mixing studies.

RESULTS: We analyzed 100 women with one or more SA with a mean age of 31.0 ± 3.8 years. Nearly 4% and 3% of the participants were LA positive with Staclot® and KCT tests, respectively. Patients with LA were more likely to have had a past history of preeclampsia/eclampsia, small for gestational age deliveries, and previous SA (prevalence odds ratio [95% confidence interval]) of 1.9 (0.2, 20.1), 3.2 (0.3, 34.3), and 1.4 (0.1-13.6), respectively. The PT, APTT, and KCT were significantly prolonged in patients with LA (P ≤ 0.001 for each, respectively).

CONCLUSION: LA may be one of the causes of SA and other adverse pregnancy outcomes such as preeclampsia/eclampsia and small for date deliveries. It is recommended that patients with prolonged APTT, uncorrected with 50:50 mixing study with pooled control plasma, should be evaluated further for LA.