Correlation between trimester of fetal wastage and anti-cardiolipin antibody titer

The existence of circulating lupus anticoagulant and anti-cardiolipin antibodies (ACA) has been reported to be associated with recurrent fetal loss. We used an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for detection of ACA in plasma samples from 104 women with a history of recurrent fetal loss. The normal range of the ACA level was defined as less than 6 GPL (IgG anti-cardiolipin) units (n = 100 normal plasma samples). Nine women (9.7%) were positive for ACA. The population was divided into two groups on the basis of medical history, and analysis revealed that 42.8% (3/7) of the group of patients with at least one fetal loss in the second or third trimester were positive for ACA; their mean ACA titer was 34 GPL units.