ABSTRACT
Anticardiolipin antibodies, immunoglobulin G, and M (IgG, IgM) have been associated
with recurrent abortion and with maternal death. This study tested whether anticardiolipin
titers would be a useful prenatal screening test to determine high-risk pregnancies.
Titers were obtained at the first clinic visit in 686 patients, mean gestation, 20
weeks. The outcome variables were taken from a medical records computer data base.
IgG anticardiolipin correlated inversely with birthweight (p <0.025), but not with
gestation. IgM anticardiolipin correlated strongly with the inverse of patient age
(p <0.0002) and with chronic hypertension (p <0.01), but not with preeclampsia. There
was a weak correlation with the 1-minute Apgar score (p <0.05). Thirty-seven patients
had titers of IgG or IgM greater than 3 standard deviations above the mean for nonpregnant
patients. Sixteen of these patients were studied for antinuclear antibody and coagulopathy
(prothrombin time, partial thromboplastin time, viper venom time) and all were normal.
Six of eight patients tested had low range elevated antibody titers to double-stranded
DNA. Ten placentas were examined and showed no infarctions. None of the correlations
were of practical clinical utility. The biologic basis of the correlations found is
of further interest. The value of anticardiolipin titers with lupus erythematosus,
or with coagulopathy, was not tested.
