Pregnancy failure in patients with obstetric antiphospholipid syndrome with conventional treatment: the influence of a triple positive antibody profile

Abstract

Conventional treatment of obstetric antiphospholipid syndrome fails in approximately 20–30% of pregnant women without any clearly identified risk factor. It is important to identify risk factors that are associated with these treatment failures. This study aimed to assess the impact of risk factors on pregnancy outcomes in women with obstetric antiphospholipid syndrome treated with conventional treatment. We carefully retrospectively selected 106 pregnancies in women with obstetric antiphospholipid syndrome treated with heparin + aspirin. Pregnancy outcomes were evaluated according to the following associated risk factors: triple positivity profile, double positivity profile, single positivity profile, history of thrombosis, autoimmune disease, more than four pregnancy losses, and high titers of anticardiolipin antibodies and/or anti-βeta-2-glycoprotein-I (aβ2GPI) antibodies. To establish the association between pregnancy outcomes and risk factors, a single binary logistic regressions analysis was performed. Risk factors associated with pregnancy loss with conventional treatment were: the presence of triple positivity (OR = 5.0, CI = 1.4–16.9, p = 0.01), high titers of aβ2GPI (OR = 4.4, CI = 1.2–16.1, p = 0.023) and a history of more than four pregnancy losses (OR = 3.5, CI = 1.2–10.0, p = 0.018). The presence of triple positivity was an independent risk factor associated with gestational complications (OR = 4.1, CI = 1.2–13.9, p = 0.02). Our findings reinforce the idea that triple positivity is a categorical risk factor for poor response to conventional treatment.