Morbidity and mortality in the antiphospholipid syndrome during a 10-year period: a multicentre prospective study of 1000 patients.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the prevalence of the main causes of morbi-mortality in the antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) during a 10-year-follow-up period and to compare the frequency of early manifestations with those that appeared later. METHODS: In 1999, we started an observational study of 1000 APS patients from 13 European countries. All had medical histories documented when entered into the study and were followed prospectively during the ensuing 10 years. RESULTS: 53.1% of the patients had primary APS, 36.2% had APS associated with systemic lupus erythematosus and 10.7% APS associated with other diseases. Thrombotic events appeared in 166 (16.6%) patients during the first 5-year period and in 115 (14.4%) during the second 5-year period. The most common events were strokes, transient ischaemic attacks, deep vein thromboses and pulmonary embolism. 127 (15.5%) women became pregnant (188 pregnancies) and 72.9% of pregnancies succeeded in having one or more live births. The most common obstetric complication was early pregnancy loss (16.5% of the pregnancies). Intrauterine growth restriction (26.3% of the total live births) and prematurity (48.2%) were the most frequent fetal morbidities. 93 (9.3%) patients died and the most frequent causes of death were severe thrombosis (36.5%) and infections (26.9%). Nine (0.9%) cases of catastrophic APS occurred and 5 (55.6%) of them died. The survival probability at 10 years was 90.7%. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with APS still develop significant morbidity and mortality despite current treatment. It is imperative to increase the efforts in determining optimal prognostic markers and therapeutic measures to prevent these complications.

Controlled, cross-sectional MRI evaluation of joint status in severe haemophilia A patients treated with prophylaxis vs. on demand.

In patients with haemophilia A, factor VIII (FVIII) prophylaxis reduces bleeding frequency and joint damage compared with on-demand therapy. To assess the effect of prophylaxis initiation age, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was used to evaluate bone and cartilage damage in patients with severe haemophilia A. In this cross-sectional, multinational investigation, patients aged 12-35 years were assigned to 1 of 5 groups: primary prophylaxis started at age <2 years (group 1); secondary prophylaxis started at age 2 to <6 years (group 2), 6 to <12 years (group 3), or 12-18 years (group 4); or on-demand treatment (group 5). Joint status at ankles and knees was assessed using Compatible Additive MRI scoring (maximum and mean ankle; maximum and mean of all 4 joints) and Gilbert scores in the per-protocol population (n = 118). All prophylaxis groups had better MRI joint scores than the on-demand group. MRI scores generally increased with current patient age and later start of prophylaxis. Ankles were the most affected joints. In group 1 patients currently aged 27-35 years, the median of maximum ankle scores was 0.0; corresponding values in groups 4 and 5 were 17.0 and 18.0, respectively [medians of mean index joint scores: 0.0 (group 1), 8.1 (group 2) and 13.8 (group 4)]. Gilbert scores revealed outcomes less pronounced than MRI scores. MRI scores identified pathologic joint status with high sensitivity. Prophylaxis groups had lower annualized joint bleeds and MRI scores vs. the on-demand group. Primary prophylaxis demonstrated protective effects against joint deterioration compared with secondary prophylaxis.

Modification of nursing students' performance in blood pressure measurement: an educational retraining programme.

AIM: To assess the procedure for measuring blood pressure (BP) among nursing students after the basic educational programme and after further supplementary training. METHODS: One hundred and fifty nursing students participated in the study, which was divided into two phases. During the first phase, students attended the routine educational programme in respect of the technique of measuring BP in the course of the lesson 'Basic Nursing'. During the next semester (second phase), the same students attended the lesson of 'Internal Medicine Nursing'. In the course of this lesson, a supplementary educational intervention for BP measurement was introduced for the purpose of this study. In order to perform our study, the university's written approval was given. At the end of the second phase, the 150 participants (volunteers) gave their oral consent for the anonymous publication of the results. RESULTS: The results showed an inadequate performance after the basic educational programme, but a significant improvement in the technique of measuring BP after supplementary educational intervention was achieved. This improvement was significant for all the parameters examined. CONCLUSION: Supplementary education of students may be required, as this could significantly improve their technique for the accurate measurement of BP.

Prophylactic and therapeutic use of recombinant activated factor VII in patients with cirrhosis and coagulation impairment.

Patients with cirrhosis and impaired coagulation often pose major therapeutic problems during bleeding episodes or invasive procedures. Recombinant activated factor VII (rFVIIa), which has been licensed for the treatment of haemophilia patients with factor VIII or IX inhibitors, has been occasionally used in cirrhotic patients. We present five patients with cirrhosis and coagulopathy who received 1-4 recombinant activated factor VII infusions either prophylactically in order to safely undergo an invasive procedure or therapeutically in order to control a severe bleeding episode which did not respond to standard supportive care. In particular, recombinant activated factor VII infusions were given in two patients before a percutaneous liver biopsy, in one patient before teeth extraction and in two patients with haemoperitoneum after an invasive procedure. Infusions of recombinant activated factor VII achieved rapid correction of prothrombin time in all cases allowing the safe performance of invasive procedures or resulting in efficient control of the bleeding episode. In conclusion, recombinant activated factor VII seems to be a rather promising agent for the prevention or treatment of complications of haemostasis impairment in cirrhotic patients. However, its exact role in this setting needs to be evaluated within well-designed, controlled clinical trials.

[The macula in Adamantiades-Behçet disease]. / La macula dans le syndrome d'Adamantiades-Behçet.

Adamantiades-Behçet disease is a well known clinical entity in the Mediterranean area. Signs and complications in these patients, arising from the macular area, are often overlooked for a prolonged period of time, because they are masked by the inflammatory signs of the anterior segment and/or the vitreous. Although blindness, in most cases, is the result of the optic disc atrophy, the macular alterations--as a sequelae of inflammation--are responsible for the low visual acuity. The authors in a retrospective clinical study of the last 100 consecutive cases of A-B disease, studied these macular alterations in detail. Their findings are also described in detail. Therapeutic modalities center around treatment with steroids, Cyclosporine A, and argon laser application. The results obtained from a long follow-up period are discussed.

Surgery-associated acquired hemophilia A.

We present two patients who acquired factor VIII antibodies in the immediate postoperative period. One patient was receiving warfarin that was temporarily discontinued but reintroduced after the procedure. Preoperatively, none gave a history of bleeding, even with past surgeries, and both had normal coagulation tests. Within days of surgery, hemorrhage with prolonged activated partial thromboplastin time, low factor VIII levels, and demonstrable factor VIII antibodies were observed. For the patient who was receiving warfarin the severe bleeding was attributed, at the beginning, only to the high international normalized ratio (INR), which resulted in a fatal delay in diagnosis and appropriate treatment. We would like to raise awareness of surgery as a precipitating cause of acquired hemophilia, which is something to be considered with unusual postoperative bleeding. This syndrome is remarkable for its abrupt onset within days of surgery, severe bleeding but potential successful outcome with combined hemostatic control with recombinant activated FVII (rFVIIa) and elimination of the antibody by immunosuppression.

Cardiac tamponade due to post-cardiac injury syndrome in a patient with severe haemophilia A and HIV-1 infection.

An 18-year-old man with severe haemophilia A (FVIII:C < 1%) and human immunodeficiency virus 1 (HIV-1) infection was admitted to the hospital with fever and chest pain for 7 days. Eight weeks prior to his admission he had an accident for which he underwent, at another hospital, clinical and laboratory examination that revealed bone fractures of the nose cavity, and he was given factor VIII concentrates for seven days due to nasal bleeding. On admission, chest roentgenogram showed a large cardiac silhouette and echocardiography confirmed the presence of a large quantity of pericardial fluid. A presumptive diagnosis of the post-cardiac injury syndrome was made and he was given anti-inflammatory drugs plus infusion of recombinant factor VIII concentrate (35 units kg-1 b.i.d.). On the seventh day he exhibited cardiac tamponade for which he underwent subxiphoid pericardiotomy with drainage of approximately 1500 mL of bloody exudate. He had an uncomplicated recovery and 10 days later he left hospital. He was given a continuous prophylactic treatment of 15 units kg-1 of recombinant FVIII every 2 days for 6 months, and 30 months after this episode the patient is free of any symptom.