Clinical characteristics analysis of pediatric antiphospholipid syndrome patients with pulmonary embolism

Abstract

Objective To identify the clinical characteristics of pediatric antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) patients with pulmonary embolism. Methods The clinical data of 18 children with APS combined with pulmonary embolism treated in our department from January 2007 to January 2017 were retrospectively analyzed. The clinical and immunological indexes of the APS patients with pulmonary embolism were summarized. Results 18 patients(among whom 9 cases were primary APS and the other 9 cases were secondary APS) had pulmonary embolism and all of them were non-shock type, which was the first presenting manifestation in 9 cases of them. 15 patients suffered from deep vein thrombosis at the same time, mainly in lower extremities. 2 patients had thrombotic recurrence in primary APS. Primary APS was more often seen in males (7/9 vs 1/9, χ2=28.033) and much yonger [(12.3±1.1)years vs (16.5±1.2)years, t=5.361]than those with secondary APS, with statistically significant differences (P<0.05). Conclusions Pulmonary embolism can be the first symptom in prediatric APS patients and all of them are non-shock type. A majority of them suffer from deep vein thrombosis in the lower extremities. Positive anti-nuclear antibodies can be seen in primary APS patients, but there is no significant difference between primary APS and secondary APS about the clinical and immunological indexes. Key words: Antiphospholipid syndrome; Pulmonary embolism; Child