The presence of anticardiolipin antibody (ACA) in preeclampsia and eclampsia, and its clinical significance were studied. Serum samples were taken from 57 cases of preeclampsia including 29 cases of the severe type and 37 normal pregnant women ranging from 28 to 40 weeks of pregnancy. ACA was measured by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay using Harris' standard. Values above or equal to the mean plus 3 standard deviations were considered positive. The mean values and standard deviation of 41 normal pregnant women was 4.3 and 3.2U/ml respectively. In all cases of preeclampsia, ACA was positive in 7 of 57 cases (12.3%). In mild cases of preeclampsia, ACA was positive in 3 of 28 cases (10.7%). In severe cases ACA was positive in 4 of 29 (13.8%). Three cases of 7 ACA positive fetuses delivered light for date neonates. Four fetuses suffered from fetal distress. Activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) was measured in 5 cases. In 2 of them (40%), APPT was prolonged. Thrombocytopenia (less than 15×10⁴/cmm) was found in 3 of 7 cases (43%). Incidence of intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) in preeclampsia was 21.1%. Higher incidence of IUGR was found in ACA positive (42.9%) than in ACA negative preeclampsia (18.0%).
We suggest that ACA appears in some cases of preeclampsia, and that ACA may be associated with clinical abnormalities such as IUGR and coagulation disturbances in preeclampsia.