First-trimester prediction of preterm pre-eclampsia and prophylaxis by aspirin: Effect on spontaneous and iatrogenic preterm birth

ObjectiveTo report the predictive performance for preterm birth (PTB) of the Fetal Medicine Foundation (FMF) triple test and National Institute for health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines used to screen for pre-eclampsia and examine the impact of aspirin in the prevention of PTB.DesignSecondary analysis of data from the SPREE study and the ASPRE trial.SettingMulticentre studies.PopulationIn SPREE, women with singleton pregnancies had screening for preterm pre-eclampsia at 11-13 weeks of gestation by the FMF method and NICE guidelines. There were 16 451 pregnancies that resulted in delivery at & GE;24 weeks of gestation and these data were used to derive the predictive performance for PTB of the two methods of screening. The results from the ASPRE trial were used to examine the effect of aspirin in the prevention of PTB in the population from SPREE.MethodsComparison of performance of FMF method and NICE guidelines for pre-eclampsia in the prediction of PTB and use of aspirin in prevention of PTB.Main outcome measureSpontaneous PTB (sPTB), iatrogenic PTB for pre-eclampsia (iPTB-PE) and iatrogenic PTB for reasons other than pre-eclampsia (iPTB-noPE).ResultsEstimated incidence rates of sPTB, iPTB-PE and iPTB-noPE were 3.4%, 0.8% and 1.6%, respectively. The corresponding detection rates were 17%, 82% and 25% for the triple test and 12%, 39% and 19% for NICE guidelines, using the same overall screen positive rate of 10.2%. The estimated proportions prevented by aspirin were 14%, 65% and 0%, respectively.ConclusionPrediction of sPTB and iPTB-noPE by the triple test was poor and poorer by the NICE guidelines. Neither sPTB nor iPTB-noPE was reduced substantially by aspirin.

Automated summary

This study reports on the predictive performance of the Fetal Medicine Foundation (FMF) triple test and National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines in screening for preterm birth (PTB), as well as the impact of aspirin in preventing PTB. The results show poor predictive performance of both screening methods for PTB, and aspirin did not significantly reduce the incidence of spontaneous or non-pre-eclampsia-related iatrogenic PTB.