Objective:

to determine the association between the presence of anticardiolipin antibody and a history of recurrent spontaneous abortion.

Study design:

clinical controlled study Location: Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics - University of Campinas (UNICAMP) Subjects: 52 individuals with recurrent spontaneous abortion were included in Group 1 and 104 individuals with at least one live born child in Group 2. Elapsed time from last delivery to blood sampling varied from six months to two years.

Method:

Between November 1993 and November 1994, patients'blood samples were screened for anticardiolipin antibody by ELISA, as described by Triplett, Barna and Unger (1993).

Analysis:

Chi-square and Fisher's Exact tests were used for statistical analysis. Student's "t" test was used to compare the means.

Results:

There was no statistical difference in the presence of the anticardiolipin antibody between Group I (zero and 2.9 per cent) and Group 2 (7.7 and 5.8 per cent).

Concluison:

There was no association between the presence of anticardiolipin antibody and recurrent spontaneous abortion.