Analysis of the Cochrane Review: Antiplatelet Agents for Preventing Pre-Eclampsia and Its Complications. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2019;10:CD004659.

Abstract

Pre-eclampsia is associated with deficient intravascular production of prostacyclin, a vasodilator, and excessive production of thromboxane, a vasoconstrictor and stimulant of platelet aggregation. These observations led to the hypotheses that antiplatelet agents, low-dose aspirin in particular, might prevent or delay development of pre-eclampsia. This Cochrane review aimed to assess the effectiveness and safety of antiplatelet agents, such as aspirin and dipyridamole, when given to women at risk of developing preeclampsia. A systematic review of literature was carried out by searching the following databases up to September 2019: Cochrane Pregnancy and Childbirth’s Trials Register, ClinicalTrials.gov, the WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (ICTRP), and reference lists of retrieved studies. Seventy-seven trials were included, including 40 249 women at risk of developing pre-eclampsia. About 80% of these women were evaluated in nine of the 77 trials included, with eight of these nine trials providing individual data. Interventions were administration of an antiplatelet agent, and comparisons were either placebo or no antiplatelet. The present review provides high-quality evidence that administering low-dose aspirin (50 - 150 mg) to pregnant women led to small-to-moderate benefits, including reductions in the risk of pre-eclampsia, preterm birth, small-for-gestational age fetus, and fetal or neonatal death. Overall, administering antiplatelet agents to 1000 women led to 20 fewer pregnancies with serious adverse outcomes.