Aspirin and preeclampsia prevention in patients with abnormal uterine artery blood flow

Abstract

Background: Preeclampsia is one of the leading causes of maternal mortality and morbidity. Its prevalence varies between 10-25% among high-risk pregnant patients. Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine whether treatment with acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) reduces the incidence of preeclampsia among pregnant women with abnormal uterine artery flow. Patients and Methods: In this double-blind, placebo controlled trial, 80 high-risk pregnant women with preeclampsia, who had abnormal findings on Doppler ultrasonography at 12-16 weeks of pregnancy (unilateral notch with RI ≥ 0.65 or bilateral notch with RI ≥ 0.55), were randomly divided into two groups; the intervention group was treated with ASA tablet 80 mg, one tablet per day, and the control group was given placebo. Then patients were followed until the end of their pregnancy period, and pregnancy outcomes, including development of preeclampsia, the intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR), prematurity, type of delivery, birth weight, and Apgar score at one and five minutes were assessed. Data were analyzed using the student’s t-test, chi-square or Fisher’s exact test, and multivariate logistic regression. P values less than 0.05 were considered statistically significant. Results: There were no significant differences between the two groups in terms of baseline characteristics. There was a significant difference between the ASA and placebo groups in the incidence of preeclampsia (2.5% versus 22.5%), adjusting for the neonatal and maternal covariates. Conclusions: ASA prophylaxis can be used for prevention of preeclampsia in high-risk patients with abnormal uterine artery.