Task force report on obstetric antiphospholipid syndrome

Abstract

The obstetric criteria for antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) were first formalized in 1999 at the 10th International Congress on Antiphospholipid Antibodies (aPL). In 2010, the Organizing Committee for the upcoming 13th International Congress on aPL formed an Obstetric APS Task Force. The intent was to kindle discussion regarding obstetric APS prior to the meeting and then to engender participation among interested experts and attendees at a half-day Task Force meeting to be held the day before the official start of the Congress. The Task Force concluded that there is virtually no evidence from properly designed trials to guide clinicians with regard to prevention of fetal death, severe preeclampsia, or placental insufficiency attributed to APS. Also, no clear consensus was reached with regard to resolving discrepancies in existing trials of heparin treatment for recurrent early miscarriage attributed to APS. A majority of Task Force members were in agreement that studies in the field of APS must be carefully planned with regard to such critical elements as case and control matching and inclusion and exclusion criteria. Moreover, the ability to perform repeat testing and confirmatory testing in a central laboratory would be mandatory.