Low dose ASA in prevention or treatment of pre-eclampsia and IUGR: A review of clinical trials

In the late 1980s several clinical trials investigated the efficacy of aspirin (ASA) in preventing pre-eclampsia, Meta-analysis of the findings from these controlled trials showed that low-dose ASA significantly reduces the risk of pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH) and intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) in women at high risk of the disorders, However, in the last few years, three large randomised controlled trials, including women judged to be at moderate or low risk of pre-eclampsia and IUGR, did not confirm the favorable results of previous smaller studies, In this paper we review the results of randomised clinical trials on the effects of ASA in prevention or treatment of preeclampsia and IUGR, These results do not support the widespread routine prophylactic or therapeutic use of antiplatelet agents in pregnancy among all women judged to be at risk of pre-eclampsia or IUGR, but treatment with low-dose aspirin may be considered in some subgroups of women at very high risk.