The Prevalence of Anticardiolipin Antibody in Patients with History of Habitual Abortion; a Cross-Sectional Study

Background: The probability of abortion in individuals with anticardiolipin antibody is estimated to be 4 times more than others. The present study was designed with the aim of evaluating the prevalence of anticardiolipin antibody positive cases among patients with habitual abortion. Methods: The present retrospective cross-sectional study was done on all the women presenting to an educational hospital with complaint of habitual abortion during 2 years using census sampling. With the aid of a pre-designed checklist age, number of previous abortions, gestational age at the time of abortion, history and duration of infertility, causes of habitual abortion, number of infants born alive, type of infertility, and level of anticardiolipin antibody were collected for all the patients and were analyzed using SPSS 20 statistical software and descriptive statistics. Results: 110 habitual abortion patients with the mean age of 29.2 ± 5.96 (range: 18-43) years were studied. 81 (73%) of the abortions were reported in the first trimester of pregnancy. Anatomic factors with 35.6% and endocrine factors with 7.3% were the most common causes of habitual abortion. Anticardiolipin antibody was positive in 15 (13.6%) of the patients with the mean age of 28.9 ± 6.27 years. In the end, 35 (31.8%) pregnancies occurred during the 2 years, 26 (74.2%) of which were successful and 9 (25.7%) were unsuccessful. 5 (33.3%) of the 15 patients with positive anticardiolipin antibody that were evaluated in this study got pregnant during the 2-year follow-up, only one of which was successful. Conclusion: Based on the findings of the present study, prevalence of positive cases of anticardiolipin antibody was estimated to be 13.6% among those presenting to the mentioned hospital with habitual abortion. These patients were in a worse condition regarding probability of successful pregnancy compared to other cases of habitual abortion (with anatomic, infectious, or other reasons)