Aspirin Use for the Prevention of Preeclampsia: A Clinical Update

Introduction: Preeclampsia is a serious and deadly complication in pregnancy that affects thousands of women every year. The purpose of this clinical review is to analyze the efficacy of aspirin therapy to prevent the occurrence of preeclampsia in high-risk pregnancies. Methods: PubMed was searched using the key terms “pregnant,” "aspirin," “high-risk,” "preeclampsia," and “prevention”. Operators and filters narrowed results to 21 quality articles with 5 relevant to the topic for review. Results: One article is an RCT comparing the prevention of preeclampsia with aspirin therapy to no therapy. Four articles are meta-analyses of multiple RCTs. Three of the five articles reviewed recommend aspirin therapy to reduce the incidence of preeclampsia. Two articles state there is no significant difference with aspirin therapy. Discussion: After analysis of the reviewed articles, the results are mixed on aspirin use to prevent preeclampsia in high-risk pregnancies. More research is needed to solidify better recommendations and guidelines to improve patient safety regarding preeclampsia prevention