Abstract
Objective: The presence of the lupus anticoagulant (LA) an auto antibody has been implicated as a marker for first trimester spontaneous abortions as well as second and third trimester foetal death in the Caucasians. There is paucity of information on LA in African women where recurrent abortion and obstetrics complications are still common. Our aim therefore is to determine the prevalence of lupus anticoagulant in Nigerian women with recurrent abortion Subjects and methods: A total of seventy – three pregnant women were studied. Twenty three of them had history of recurrent abortions; they were compared with 50 without obstetrics complications as controls. Coagulation studies using the kaolin clotting time were carried out on their plasma sample. Mixing experiments were conducted on samples with prolonged clotting time in order to detect the presence of the lupus anticoagulant. The anticoagulant was considered present if the kaolin clotting time ratio is greater than or equal to 1.2. Result: Nineteen {82.62%} of the patients with recurrent abortion had normal kaolin clotting time, one {4.35%} had subnormal clotting time. The kaolin clotting time ration was greater than 1.2 in one (4.35%) of the patients with recurrent abortions signifying the presence of the lupus anticoagulant. Four (8%) of the pregnant controls had subnormal kaolin clotting time, 44 (88%) had normal clotting time while 2 (4%) had prolonged clotting time. The lupus anticoagulant was present in one (2%) of the pregnant controls. Conclusion: A 4.35% prevalence of LA among Nigerians with recurrent foetal loss may necessitate the screening of pregnant women with history of recurrent abortion for the lupus anticoagulant. We recommend that screening for lupus anticoagulant should be part of the routine investigation for women with recurrent spontaneous abortions KEY WORDS: Recurrent Abortions, Pregnant Women, Lupus Anticoagulant, Kaolin clotting time Nigerian Journal of Clinical Practice Vol.6(1) 2003:26-29
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
