Low Doses of Aspirin in the Prevention of Preeclampsia

Preeclampsia Clinical Trial

— ASAPP  

Official title:

A Randomized Controlled Trial Comparing Low Doses Of Aspirin In The Prevention Of Preeclampsia (ASAPP)

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Enrolling by invitation

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT04070573
• Other study ID #: 19-05020160
• Status: Enrolling by invitation
• Phase: Phase 3
• Start date: October 21, 2019
• Est. completion date: August 2024

Study information

• Verified date: November 2023
• Source: Weill Medical College of Cornell University
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

Preeclampsia (PE) is a morbid and potentially lethal complication of pregnancy and is more common in women with specific risk factors. Aspirin (ASA) is currently the only prophylactic therapy for preeclampsia in high-risk women to be recognized by the US Preventive Task Force and should be initiated early in the second trimester of pregnancy, before 16 weeks of gestation. However, currently there is no literature comparing various low-dose ASA formulations in the risk reduction of PE. In the United States, the currently available low-dose ASA is over the counter and is found in 81mg tablets. Therefore, when clinicians initiate therapy with low dose ASA, they may prescribe 1 or 2 tablets of 81mg aspirin per day depending on personal preference and cannot be assisted by evidence to guide their decision.This study aims to determine the incidence of preterm PE or PE with severe features in women taking either 81mg or 162mg in a randomized setting, from a single center. The investigators hypothesize that the information gained from this trial will permit a more accurate sample size calculation for a larger clinical trial powered to accept or reject our testing hypothesis. If our hypothesis is rejected and 162mg of daily ASA is not associated with a lower incidence of severe or preterm PE compared to 81mg, this may be due to lack of power to detect a smaller effect. The investigators would then evaluate the feasibility and results and determine whether a larger trial is reasonable.

Description:

Preeclampsia (PE) is a serious and potentially fatal complication of pregnancy. It is a placental disease characterized by an elevated blood pressure in the 3rd trimester with multisystem involvement (proteinuria, elevated liver enzymes, low platelet count and/or neurologic symptoms). PE can cause pulmonary edema, seizures, or stroke and is a leading cause of maternal mortality. The pregnancy outcomes are further worsened if PE develops before term. Women who have a history of PE in a prior pregnancy, diabetes, preexisting hypertension, kidney disease, multifetal gestation or autoimmune diseases are at an increased risk to develop PE in a subsequent pregnancy.

Clinical trials evaluating the benefits of low-dose aspirin (ASA) have used a wide range of doses from 60mg to 150mg orally daily with low-dose being defined as less than 325mg per day. Taking ASA (as opposed to placebo) is thought to reduce the risk of preeclampsia by 17%, without increasing the risk of major obstetric bleeding. The number needed to treat is only 19 women. ASA is currently the only prophylactic therapy for PE in high-risk women to be recognized by the US Preventive Task Force and should be initiated early in the second trimester of pregnancy, before 16 weeks of gestation.

There has also been more awareness that the efficacy of ASA in preventing preeclampsia is limited by the poor adherence of patients to this therapy. Indeed, a cross-sectional study has estimated that up to 46% of women (n=42) on ASA therapy may not be compliant to it, as determined by a validated Simplified Medication Adherence Questionnaire (SMAQ). Adherence is essential to the efficacy of ASA in preventing preterm preeclampsia. It would therefore be of interest to obtain more information about adherence to ASA in women who need this therapy.

Assessing molecular pathways in the development of PE may allow opportunity for earlier diagnosis, specific triaging of patients to closer monitoring and further development of preventative or curative treatment strategies. Samples will be biobanked for biomarker discovery in the future.

The current literature is lacking in evidence to recommend a specific daily dose of ASA. Recent meta-analyses have suggested that there may be a dose response in the protective effect of ASA for PE. As compared to 60mg per day, an ASA dose of 100mg per day was associated with a lower relative risk of PE (0.44 vs 0.57, p=0.36). A large study of 1776 women has compared a slightly higher dose of ASA (150mg per day) to placebo and found a decrease in preterm delivery (before 37 weeks) due to PE (OR 0.38, p=0.004). Meta-analyses have shown that any dose of ASA above 60mg per day is protective and should be used to prevent PE in high risk pregnancies.

To date, there has not been any studies comparing lower doses of ASA (such as 81mg, the traditional "baby aspirin" dose sold in the US) to higher "low-dose" ASA regimens (such as 162mg) in their ability to prevent preterm or severe PE in women who are at a high risk for this devastating disease.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Enrolling by invitation
• Enrollment: 400
• Est. completion date: August 2024
• Est. primary completion date: August 2024
• Accepts healthy volunteers: No
• Gender: Female
• Age group: 18 Years to 60 Years

Eligibility

Patients are currently only being enrolled at the New York Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medicine and at the New York Presbyterian Queens campuses.

Inclusion Criteria:

Pregnant patients, =18 years old, at less than 16 weeks' gestation (as documented by ultrasound) with at least one of the following risk factors for developing PE:

• PE in a prior pregnancy

• Chronic hypertension (prior to pregnancy or before 20 weeks' gestation)

• Type 1 or 2 diabetes

• Renal disease (proteinuria =300mg/day or estimated GFR<90mL/min/1.73 m2)

• Multifetal gestation

• Autoimmune disease (e.g. systemic lupus erythematous, antiphospholipid syndrome)

Exclusion Criteria:

• Patient with known intention to terminate pregnancy

• Major fetal malformation seen on ultrasound

• Contraindication to ASA therapy (including but not limited to allergy and high bleeding risk)

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Pre-Eclampsia
• Preeclampsia

Intervention

Drug:
• acetylsalicylic acid
High risk pregnant women will be treated with daily aspirin during pregnancy.

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
United States	New York Presbyterian - Weill Cornell	New York	New York
United States	New York Presbyterian Queens	New York	New York

Sponsors (1)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
Weill Medical College of Cornell University

Country where clinical trial is conducted

United States, 

References & Publications (16)

Abheiden CN, van Reuler AV, Fuijkschot WW, de Vries JI, Thijs A, de Boer MA. Aspirin adherence during high-risk pregnancies, a questionnaire study. Pregnancy Hypertens. 2016 Oct;6(4):350-355. doi: 10.1016/j.preghy.2016.08.232. Epub 2016 Aug 6. — View Citation

ACOG Practice Bulletin No. 202: Gestational Hypertension and Preeclampsia. Obstet Gynecol. 2019 Jan;133(1):1. doi: 10.1097/AOG.0000000000003018. — View Citation

American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists' Committee on Practice Bulletins-Obstetrics. ACOG Practice Bulletin No. 203: Chronic Hypertension in Pregnancy. Obstet Gynecol. 2019 Jan;133(1):e26-e50. doi: 10.1097/AOG.0000000000003020. — View Citation

Duley L, Henderson-Smart DJ, Meher S, King JF. Antiplatelet agents for preventing pre-eclampsia and its complications. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2007 Apr 18;(2):CD004659. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD004659.pub2. — View Citation

Henderson JT, Whitlock EP, O'Conner E, Senger CA, Thompson JH, Rowland MG. Low-Dose Aspirin for the Prevention of Morbidity and Mortality From Preeclampsia: A Systematic Evidence Review for the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force [Internet]. Rockville (MD): Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (US); 2014 Apr. Report No.: 14-05207-EF-1. Available from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK196392/ — View Citation

Koh W, Pan W, Gawad C, Fan HC, Kerchner GA, Wyss-Coray T, Blumenfeld YJ, El-Sayed YY, Quake SR. Noninvasive in vivo monitoring of tissue-specific global gene expression in humans. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2014 May 20;111(20):7361-6. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1405528111. Epub 2014 May 5. Erratum In: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2014 Jul 29;111(30):11223. — View Citation

Lisonkova S, Joseph KS. Incidence of preeclampsia: risk factors and outcomes associated with early- versus late-onset disease. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2013 Dec;209(6):544.e1-544.e12. doi: 10.1016/j.ajog.2013.08.019. Epub 2013 Aug 22. — View Citation

Ngo TTM, Moufarrej MN, Rasmussen MH, Camunas-Soler J, Pan W, Okamoto J, Neff NF, Liu K, Wong RJ, Downes K, Tibshirani R, Shaw GM, Skotte L, Stevenson DK, Biggio JR, Elovitz MA, Melbye M, Quake SR. Noninvasive blood tests for fetal development predict gestational age and preterm delivery. Science. 2018 Jun 8;360(6393):1133-1136. doi: 10.1126/science.aar3819. — View Citation

Perneby C, Vahter M, Akesson A, Bremme K, Hjemdahl P. Thromboxane metabolite excretion during pregnancy--influence of preeclampsia and aspirin treatment. Thromb Res. 2011 Jun;127(6):605-6. doi: 10.1016/j.thromres.2011.01.005. Epub 2011 Feb 12. No abstract available. — View Citation

Perni U, Sison C, Sharma V, Helseth G, Hawfield A, Suthanthiran M, August P. Angiogenic factors in superimposed preeclampsia: a longitudinal study of women with chronic hypertension during pregnancy. Hypertension. 2012 Mar;59(3):740-6. doi: 10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.111.181735. Epub 2012 Feb 6. — View Citation

Roberge S, Nicolaides K, Demers S, Hyett J, Chaillet N, Bujold E. The role of aspirin dose on the prevention of preeclampsia and fetal growth restriction: systematic review and meta-analysis. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2017 Feb;216(2):110-120.e6. doi: 10.1016/j.ajog.2016.09.076. Epub 2016 Sep 15. — View Citation

Rolnik DL, Wright D, Poon LC, O'Gorman N, Syngelaki A, de Paco Matallana C, Akolekar R, Cicero S, Janga D, Singh M, Molina FS, Persico N, Jani JC, Plasencia W, Papaioannou G, Tenenbaum-Gavish K, Meiri H, Gizurarson S, Maclagan K, Nicolaides KH. Aspirin versus Placebo in Pregnancies at High Risk for Preterm Preeclampsia. N Engl J Med. 2017 Aug 17;377(7):613-622. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1704559. Epub 2017 Jun 28. — View Citation

Seidler AL, Askie L, Ray JG. Optimal aspirin dosing for preeclampsia prevention. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2018 Jul;219(1):117-118. doi: 10.1016/j.ajog.2018.03.018. Epub 2018 Mar 26. No abstract available. — View Citation

Shanmugalingam R, Hennessy A, Makris A. Aspirin in the prevention of preeclampsia: the conundrum of how, who and when. J Hum Hypertens. 2019 Jan;33(1):1-9. doi: 10.1038/s41371-018-0113-7. Epub 2018 Sep 19. — View Citation

Vainio M, Riutta A, Koivisto AM, Maenpaa J. Prostacyclin, thromboxane A and the effect of low-dose ASA in pregnancies at high risk for hypertensive disorders. Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand. 2004 Dec;83(12):1119-23. doi: 10.1111/j.0001-6349.2004.00396.x. — View Citation

Wright D, Poon LC, Rolnik DL, Syngelaki A, Delgado JL, Vojtassakova D, de Alvarado M, Kapeti E, Rehal A, Pazos A, Carbone IF, Dutemeyer V, Plasencia W, Papantoniou N, Nicolaides KH. Aspirin for Evidence-Based Preeclampsia Prevention trial: influence of compliance on beneficial effect of aspirin in prevention of preterm preeclampsia. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2017 Dec;217(6):685.e1-685.e5. doi: 10.1016/j.ajog.2017.08.110. Epub 2017 Sep 6. — View Citation

* Note: There are 16 references in all — Click here to view all references

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Other	Impact of co-morbidities on incidence of preeclampsia	Assess the impact of specific co-morbidities (diabetes, chronic hypertension, renal disease and autoimmune disease), blood pressure control, age and race on the relationship between treatment group (81mg vs 162mg aspirin per day) and preeclampsia incidence.	9 months for each patient (from recruitment until 6 weeks postpartum)
Primary	Incidence of preterm (<37 weeks) preeclampsia	The incidence of preterm (<37 weeks) preeclampsia in high risk pregnant women treated with either 81 mg or 162 mg of daily aspirin during pregnancy.	9 months for each patient (from recruitment until 6 weeks postpartum)
Primary	Incidence of preeclampsia with severe features	The incidence of preeclampsia with severe features (American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists [ACOG] 2019 definition) in high risk pregnant women treated with either 81 mg or 162 mg of daily aspirin during pregnancy.	9 months for each patient (from recruitment until 6 weeks postpartum)
Secondary	Aspirin adherence	Evaluate and compare the adherence of pregnant women to 81mg and 162mg of daily low-dose aspirin using a validated, Simplified Medication Adherence Questionnaire (SMAQ).	9 months for each patient (from recruitment until 6 weeks postpartum)
Secondary	Maternal and Fetal Outcomes	Compare maternal and fetal outcomes in pregnant women at a high risk for preeclampsia who are treated with either 81mg or 162mg of daily aspirin during pregnancy, including preeclampsia =37 weeks, severe maternal hypertension, preterm delivery, fetal growth restriction, placental abruption and maternal/fetal mortality.	9 months for each patient (from recruitment until 6 weeks postpartum)
Secondary	Time-to-event for preeclampsia and gestational age at onset of PE	Compare the time-to-event for developing preeclampsia for women treated with 81mg vs 162mg of aspirin per day. The time to event analysis will be made using the gestational age at the onset of preeclampsia as a variable	9 months for each patient (from recruitment until 6 weeks postpartum)
Secondary	Aspirin compliance	To assess the compliance to low dose aspirin in pregnant women that are at high risk for preeclampsia and compare compliance rates for women on 81mg vs 162mg of aspirin per day using urine studies for salicylates and serum analysis.	9 months for each patient (from recruitment until 6 weeks postpartum)