Blood
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To determine whether an association exists between the presence of antiphospholipid antibodies and pregnancy loss, a cross-sectional study was performed. Consecutive women who were referred to three outpatient rheumatology clinics and who had systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and a history of one or more pregnancies were evaluated. Patients were interviewed to determine outcomes of all previous pregnancies. ⋯ Within the group of lupus anticoagulant-positive patients, we observed stronger associations between the presence of six or more positive tests and pregnancy loss than between the presence of two to five positive tests and pregnancy loss. No single test for the lupus anticoagulant provides a statistically significant association with pregnancy loss. The results of our study show that by performing multiple lupus anticoagulant tests and by repeating testing for lupus anticoagulant and anticardiolipin antibodies on more than one occasion, significant associations between the presence of antiphospholipid antibodies and previous pregnancy loss can be shown in patients with SLE.