A randomized controlled trial of low-dose aspirin in women at risk from pre-eclampsia

Objectives: To determine whether low-dose aspirin reduces the incidence of pre-eclampsia, reduces perinatal mortality and improves birth weights in pregnant women considered at high risk of developing pre-eclampsia. Method: Two-hundred fifty subjects were recruited from the antenatal clinics at Harare Central Hospital with either a previous history of pregnancy-induced hypertension or pre-existing chronic hypertension and were randomized to receive either 75 mg of aspirin (ASA) or placebo (PLA). Results: Two-hundred thirty subjects (ASA, n = 113; PLA, n = 117) completed the trial. The odds of developing pre-eclampsia for those on aspirin was 0.72 times those on placebo (95 % CI, 0.34 - 1.52). The mean birth weight was 2774 g for those on aspirin and 2694 g for those on placebo (P = 0.80). No difference was noted in the perinatal deaths (OR = 0.38; 95 % CI, 0.10 - 1.20). Conclusion: Prophylactic use of aspirin was not associated with a significant effect on the major pregnancy outcomes assessed in this study. (C) 1998 International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics.