Pregnancy and catastrophic antiphospholipid syndrome

Jose A Gómez-Puerta1, Jose Sanin-Blair, Claudio Galarza-Maldonado

  • 1Rheumatology Department, Hospital Clínic, Barcelona, Spain. jagomez@clinic.ub.es

Antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) is clearly related to maternal morbidity. The most characteristic feature is pregnancy loss; however, several other serious complications had been reported including fetal growth restriction, uteroplacental insufficiency, fetal distress, pre-eclampsia, and HELLP syndrome. Herein, we review the different aspects of obstetric APS features, with special emphasis on its life-threatening variant known as catastrophic APS (Asherson's syndrome) and its relationship with a thrombotic microangiopathy such as HELLP syndrome.

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