Science Letters

A Brief Insight into Antiphospholipid Syndrome during Pregnancy

Reeti K. C. Lamichhane, Lizhou Sun*, Nora Rashed Yousef

Obstetrics Department, Nanjing Maternity and Child Health Care Hospital affiliated with Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210004, China

Abstract

The occurrence of antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) during pregnancy has come to marked attention in the recent years. The APS is primarily a multisystem disorder which also imposes a serious impact on pregnancy. Its association with pregnancy outcome varies from normal delivery to a wide range of complications. APS is an autoimmune disease wherein autoantibodies are produced against the phospholipids of the cell membrane. It causes thrombosis in the arteries and veins to result in pregnancy-associated complications like pre-eclampsia, miscarriage, stillbirth, pregnancy induced hypertension, recurrent thrombotic event, fetal retardation, and sterility. Besides these, gravid women are also at the risk of complications like haemolysis elevated liver enzyme and low platelet (HELLP) syndrome. Diagnosis of APS is difficult due to its various clinical manifestations but detection of an antibody such as antiphospholipid antibody (APLA) in blood is helpful in its diagnosis. APS has different presentation and outcomes among pregnant women. Many cases of fetal loss are in early period. Although, many complications can occur due to APS, but there are only a few numbers of pregnancies that end in a fetal loss. Nevertheless, if detection of APLA is done earlier in pregnancy then with the proper treatment, the successful outcome of the pregnancy can be achieved. This review briefly focuses on APS during pregnancy from its pathogenesis, diagnosis, associated antibodies treatment and recent advances made for better understanding of the disease.