METHODS

Data sources:

the Cochrane Pregnancy and Childbirth Group trials register (September 2003), the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (Cochrane Library, Issue 2, 2003), EMBASE/Excerpta Medica (1994–2003), and congress proceedings of the International and European Societies for the Study of Hypertension in Pregnancy (up to 2002).

Study selection and assessment:

randomised controlled trials (RCTs) that compared any antiplatelet agent (such as low dose aspirin or dipyridamole) with a control condition comprising placebo or no antiplatelet agent in pregnant women considered to be at risk of developing pre-eclampsia. Exclusion criteria included comparisons of 1 antiplatelet agent with another, and of antiplatelets with other interventions. Study quality was assessed …