Intended for healthcare professionals

Rapid response to:

Paper

Exposure to non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs during pregnancy and risk of miscarriage: population based cohort study

BMJ 2003; 327 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.327.7411.368 (Published 14 August 2003) Cite this as: BMJ 2003;327:368

Rapid Response:

Low-Dose Aspirin and Miscarriage

I suppose I am one of the patients in which Li, Liu and Odouli's
article has induced, perhaps unnecessary, anxiety! I am currently
undergoing IVF treatment, for which the clinic prescribes low-dose aspirin
to all patients from the time of starting FSH injections until a positive
pregnancy test. The use of low-dose aspirin is supposed to >enhance<
implantation. Now this study comes out, seeming to say just the opposite.
I find it frustrating that the article, which is being picked up heavily
in the media internationally, says nothing about how many of the women
used low-dose aspirin and the impact of this on miscarriage. Surely the
authors were not unaware of the widespread use of low-dose aspirin by
women and by clinics.

I might also be described as one of the women who self-prescribes low
-dose aspirin, because I have already been taking it for several months--
however it was also recommended to me, somewhat informally, by both my
OB/GYN and rheumatologist (I have Undifferentiated Connective Tissue
Disease, and quite elevated ANA, though, significantly NOT elevated Anti-
Phospholipid Antibodies). Mr. Tucker should be aware that low-dose aspirin
is being widely suggested to patients for other indications than
documented Anti-Phospholipid Syndrome.

I wonder if the authors of this study could respond to Ms Maclean's
inquiry about low-dose aspirin specifically.

Competing interests:  
None declared

Competing interests: No competing interests

19 August 2003
Andrea L. D. Webster
Librarian
Watsonville Public Library; Watsonville, CA 95076