Aspirin versus Placebo in Pregnancies at High Risk for Preterm Preeclampsia

TLDR: Treatment with low‐dose aspirin in women at high risk for preterm preeclampsia resulted in a lower incidence of this diagnosis than placebo, and there were no significant between‐group differences in the incidence of neonatal adverse outcomes or other adverse events.

Abstract: BackgroundPreterm preeclampsia is an important cause of maternal and perinatal death and complications. It is uncertain whether the intake of low-dose aspirin during pregnancy reduces the risk of preterm preeclampsia. MethodsIn this multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, we randomly assigned 1776 women with singleton pregnancies who were at high risk for preterm preeclampsia to receive aspirin, at a dose of 150 mg per day, or placebo from 11 to 14 weeks of gestation until 36 weeks of gestation. The primary outcome was delivery with preeclampsia before 37 weeks of gestation. The analysis was performed according to the intention-to-treat principle. ResultsA total of 152 women withdrew consent during the trial, and 4 were lost to follow up, which left 798 participants in the aspirin group and 822 in the placebo group. Preterm preeclampsia occurred in 13 participants (1.6%) in the aspirin group, as compared with 35 (4.3%) in the placebo group (odds ratio in the aspirin group, 0.38; 95% confidenc...