Main Findings
The results of our study indicate that when early-onset preeclampsia prior to 34 weeks gestation occurred in aPL-positive women it was clinically more severe than in aPL-negative women. Women with positive aPL antibodies presented and were hospitalized earlier, delivered at a significantly earlier gestational age and with lower mean birth weight compared with women with negative aPL antibodies. Furthermore, platelet nadir was significantly lower for aPL-positive women and maximal serum creatinine was higher, two characteristics of preeclampsia with severe features. Although the study lacked the power to detect statistical differences in rare events, the rate of fetal/neonatal death and eclampsia was higher in women with positive aPL antibodies.