Heparin and aspirin in pregnant Sudanese women with recurrent miscarriage associated with antiphospholipid antibodies.

This was a prospective clinical trial conducted at Khartoum Fertility Center, during the period June 2002 to February 2005 to investigate the efficacy of unfractionated heparin and low-dose aspirin as prophylaxis against pregnancy loss in 58 pregnant Sudanese women with recurrent (> or = 3) miscarriages associated with antiphospholipid syndrome (APS). Three (5.1%) patients had early miscarriages, three (5.1%) patients developed pre-eclamptic toxaemia and forty-seven (81%) of the 58 patients had cesarean delivery. Forty-seven (81%) women had live births and 8 (13.8%) had preterm deliveries. Eight (13.8%) of the neonates were admitted to the intensive care unit for various reasons. There were 6 (10.3%) perinatal deaths, all of them were due to prematurity. None of the patients developed thromboembolic episode. There was no maternal death. The rate of live birth in this study was consistent with the previous reports. This was a none controlled study; thus controlled clinical trials using low molecular weight heparin are urgently needed.