Long-term follow-up of antiphospholipid syndrome: real-life experience from a single center

Epidemiology of antiphospholipid syndrome: macro- and microvascular manifestations

Antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) is a systemic autoimmune disease characterized by thrombotic and non-thrombotic macro- and microvascular manifestations and pregnancy complications in the setting of persistent antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL), namely anticardiolipin antibodies, anti-β2 glycoprotein-I antibodies and lupus anticoagulant. Four decades after its first description, APS prevalence and incidence are still not completely understood due to the limited number of well-designed, population-based multi-ethnic studies. Furthermore, despite decades of efforts to standardise aPL immunoassays, considerable intraassay and interlaboratory variances in aPL measures still exist. Large multicentre APS cohorts have shown a 10-year survival of ∼91% and the presence of catastrophic APS occurs in about 1% of the entire population, associated with a 50% mortality rate. Clinically, any organ can be affected in the context of large, medium or small vessel (artery and/or vein) thrombosis. Macrovascular thrombosis is the hallmark of the disease and veins are more frequently affected than arteries. Deep vein thrombosis/pulmonary embolism thromboembolic disease is the most common APS manifestation, while stroke and transient ischaemic attack are the most frequent arterial thrombosis events. Myocardial infarction can also occur and contributes to increased mortality in APS. A minority of patients present with thrombosis affecting the intraabdominal organs, including the liver, spleen, small and large bowel, and the kidneys. Microvascular thrombosis, including APS nephropathy, chronic skin ulcers and livedoid vasculopathy represent a diagnostic challenge requiring histologic confirmation. In this narrative review we summarize the available evidence on APS epidemiology, focusing on the description of the prevalence of macro- and microvascular manifestations of the disease.

Bleeding events in thrombotic antiphospholipid syndrome: prevalence, severity, and associated damage accrual

Background

Life-long anticoagulation increases bleeding risk in patients with antiphospholipid syndrome (APS). The Damage Index for Antiphospholipid Syndrome does not include bleeding events in damage accrual.

Objectives

We aimed to characterize the prevalence, severity, and damage associated with bleeding events in patients with APS.

Methods

This was a single-center retrospective analysis of patients with thrombotic APS (2006 Sydney criteria). Bleeding events were reviewed up to 43 years and classified according to the ISTH definitions into 2 groups: 1) major bleedings and 2) nonmajor bleedings (minor bleedings and clinically relevant nonmajor bleedings). Damage events were recorded as bleeding events a) resulting in permanent (>6 months) decrease in organ function and b) complicated by total/partial organ resection.

Results

Among 197 patients (2412 patient-years [PYs] of follow-up), all of whom had been exposed to antithrombotic therapy, 40.6% experienced 167 bleedings (6.9 events per 100 PYs), of whom 61.3% had nonmajor bleedings (77.2% of bleedings: 42.6% minor, 57.4% clinically relevant nonmajor) and 38.8% had major bleedings (22.8% of bleedings; 1.6 events per 100 PYs). Soft/connective tissue was affected in 44.3% of bleedings, and 94.6% were nonmajor bleedings. Central nervous system was affected in 20.9% of bleedings, and 62.9% were major bleedings. Bleeding events were spontaneous in 90.4% of cases, and thrombocytopenia was likely involved in 62.2% of bleedings. Damage occurred in 11.4% of bleedings and affected 7.6% of patients. Most of the damage was associated with central nervous system events (8.4% of all bleedings).

Conclusion

Approximately 40% of patients experienced at least 1 bleeding, and almost 8% of patients were left with organ damage not recognized by the current version of the Damage Index for Antiphospholipid Syndrome.

Management of cardiovascular surgery in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus including thromboembolism and multiple organ failure prevention: A retrospective observational study

Systemic lupus erythematosus is a chronic autoimmune disease that affects most tissues. Cardiovascular events are critical, life-threatening, long-term complications of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). We report our single-center experience of performing cardiovascular surgery in patients with SLE while avoiding postoperative complications. We also suggest a new approach for cardiopulmonary bypass and perioperative management. We applied the antiphospholipid antibody syndrome (APS) severity classification published by the Japan Intractable Disease Information Center to patients with SLE for perioperative management. Patients with Grade III or higher severity are treated with a slightly relaxed version of catastrophic APS therapy. This treatment modality includes glucocorticoids, anticoagulation, intravenous immunoglobulin, and plasma exchange. Between April 2010 and January 2021, 26 patients (2 males, 24 females) with SLE underwent cardiovascular surgery. The mean age was 74.2 ± 13.0 years (38-84 years). The primary outcomes were in-hospital mortality and long-term results, and the secondary outcomes were related to bleeding/embolization and coagulation function/platelet count. A subset analysis was performed to examine treatment efficacy in the APS Grade III or higher group. Of the 26 patients, 17 underwent valve surgery, 4 underwent isolated coronary artery bypass grafting, and 5 underwent thoracic aortic aneurysm surgery. There were no in-hospital deaths or associated bleeding/embolic complications. Postoperative antithrombin III decreased in patients who underwent valvular and aortic surgery, and platelet counts recovered to preoperative levels within 7 to 10 days. The 5- and 10-year survival rates were 80.5% and 53.7%, respectively. In addition, there were 10 patients with APS Grade III or higher, but there was no significant difference in the frequency of complications other than platelet recovery after treatment. The surgical outcome of open-heart surgery in patients with SLE was good. Surgical treatment of cardiovascular disease in these patients is difficult and complex. We focused on blood coagulation abnormalities and treated each patient by selecting the best individual treatment protocol according to the severity of the disease, taking into account the risk of bleeding and thrombosis. Management of blood coagulation function in these patients is essential, and careful therapeutic management should be considered during open-heart surgery.

Biological therapy in systemic lupus erythematosus, antiphospholipid syndrome, and Sjögren's syndrome: evidence- and practice-based guidance

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), antiphospholipid syndrome (APS), and Sjögren's syndrome (SS) are heterogeneous autoimmune diseases. Severe manifestations and refractory/intolerance to conventional immunosuppressants demand other options, namely biological drugs, and small molecules. We aimed to define evidence and practice-based guidance for the off-label use of biologics in SLE, APS, and SS. Recommendations were made by an independent expert panel, following a comprehensive literature review and two consensus rounds. The panel included 17 internal medicine experts with recognized practice in autoimmune disease management. The literature review was systematic from 2014 until 2019 and later updated by cross-reference checking and experts' input until 2021. Preliminary recommendations were drafted by working groups for each disease. A revision meeting with all experts anticipated the consensus meeting held in June 2021. All experts voted (agree, disagree, neither agree nor disagree) during two rounds, and recommendations with at least 75% agreement were approved. A total of 32 final recommendations (20 for SLE treatment, 5 for APS, and 7 for SS) were approved by the experts. These recommendations consider organ involvement, manifestations, severity, and response to previous treatments. In these three autoimmune diseases, most recommendations refer to rituximab, which aligns with the higher number of studies and clinical experience with this biological agent. Belimumab sequential treatment after rituximab may also be used in severe cases of SLE and SS. Second-line therapy with baricitinib, bortezomib, eculizumab, secukinumab, or tocilizumab can be considered in SLE-specific manifestations. These evidence and practice-based recommendations may support treatment decision and, ultimately, improve the outcome of patients living with SLE, APS, or SS.

B-Cells and BAFF in Primary Antiphospholipid Syndrome, Targets for Therapy?

Primary antiphospholipid syndrome (PAPS) is a systemic autoimmune disease characterized by thrombosis, pregnancy morbidity, and the presence of antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL). Anticoagulants form the mainstay of treatment in PAPS. A growing number of studies suggest a previously underappreciated role of the immune system in the pathophysiology of PAPS. Although B-cells are strongly implicated in the pathophysiology of other autoimmune diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), little is known about the role of B-cells in PAPS. Shifts in B-cell subsets including increases in plasmablasts and higher levels of BAFF are present in patients with PAPS. However, while treatment with rituximab and belimumab may ameliorate thrombotic and non-thrombotic manifestations of PAPS, these treatments do not reduce aPL serum levels, suggesting that B-cells contribute to the pathophysiology of APS beyond the production of autoantibodies.

Preliminary Study on the Imbalance Between Th17 and Regulatory T Cells in Antiphospholipid Syndrome

Objective

Patients with antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) have immune cell abnormalities that remain poorly understood. This study compared primary APS (PAPS) and secondary APS (SAPS) patients with healthy controls with respect to peripheral blood lymphocytes, CD4+T cell subsets, and cytokine levels. The correlation between antiphospholipid antibody titres and T helper 17 (Th17) and T regulatory (Treg) cell subsets was also analyzed, together with the correlations between cytokine profiles and the clinical characteristics of APS patients.

Methods

The retrospective study population consisted of 67 APS patients (12 with PAPS, 55 with SAPS) and 40 healthy controls. Absolute numbers of peripheral blood lymphocyte subsets and CD4+ T cell subsets were detected by flow cytometry, and serum cytokine levels by flow cytometry bead array.

Results

Patients with SAPS had lower absolute values of T, B and CD4+T cells than the healthy control group, while only natural killer (NK) cell levels were decreased in patients with PAPS. Absolute numbers of T, B, NK, and CD4+T cells were significantly higher in the PAPS than SAPS group. The trends in CD4+T cell subsets were the same in PAPS and SAPS patients as in healthy controls, with increased Th1, decreased Th2, and decreased Treg levels, and thus an increased Th17/Treg ratio. Th2, Th17, and Treg cell counts were higher in the PAPS than SAPS group. Cytokine analysis showed that only IL-10 levels differed between the two APS groups. However, the levels of all of the studied cytokines were higher in APS patients than healthy controls, and correlated with the clinical characteristics of the patients. In the PAPS group, the titres of two autoantibodies correlated positively with the Th17/Treg ratio and negatively with the levels of D-dimer and Treg subsets.

Conclusions

Our study clearly showed that APS patients have immune disturbances, the most prominent of which is an increase in the Th17/Treg ratio, due to a decrease in the number of Treg cells. These abnormalities may be involved in the occurrence and progression of APS. An additional finding was a higher level of peripheral blood lymphocytes in PAPS than SAPS patients, which may be related to the immunosuppressive treatment of SAPS patients.

An Update on Antiphospholipid Syndrome

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

To review the recent available evidence on epidemiology, pathogenesis, clinical phenotypes, and management of antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) and summarize potential future research perspectives.

RECENT FINDINGS

Accumulating evidence has further expanded our understanding of the disease, including new data about the incidence and prevalence of APS, novel pathways supporting the role of thrombo-inflammation in APS including platelet, monocyte and endothelial cell activation, pro-inflammatory cytokine and chemokine production, complement activation, neutrophil extracellular trap release, and type I interferon gene expression that could yield to new potential treatment targets, better identification of criteria and non-criteria clinical phenotypes, antiphospholipid antibody profiles and their associations with clinical outcomes, prognostic tools, and treatment strategies based on recent evidence-based recommendations for patients with thrombotic and obstetric APS, with or without systemic lupus erythematosus. Ongoing research efforts and international collaborations enhance our knowledge of this rare and often devastating syndrome and help improve patient care and health outcomes.

Epidemiology of Antiphospholipid Syndrome in the General Population

Purpose of Review

The epidemiology of antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) is poorly understood. Here, we review the current understanding of the epidemiology of antiphospholipid syndrome in the general population and the frequency of antiphospholipid antibodies in the general population in patients with obstetric morbidity, arterial events, and venous thromboembolism.

Recent Findings

There have been few population-based studies that estimated the prevalence and incidence of APS. The estimated incidence and prevalence among most these studies ranged between 1 and 2 cases per 100,000 and 40 and 50 cases per 100,000 respectively. The prevalence of antiphospholipid antibodies in patients with obstetric morbidity was 6–9%, while in arterial events and venous thromboembolism is 9–10%. However, this data remains limited. Mortality of patients with APS is 50–80% higher than the general population.

Summary

The epidemiology of APS has been difficult to elucidate. Population-based studies patients with diverse age, racial, and ethnic backgrounds are needed.

Cerebral Vein Thrombosis in the Antiphospholipid Syndrome: Analysis of a Series of 27 Patients and Review of the Literature

(1) Background: The Antiphospholipid Syndrome (APS) is a systemic autoimmune disorder characterized by arterial and/or venous thrombosis, pregnancy morbidity and raised titers of antiphospholipid antibodies. Cerebral vein thrombosis (CVT) is a rare form of cerebrovascular accident and an uncommon APS manifestation; the information in the literature about this feature consists of case reports and small case series. Our purpose is to describe the particular characteristics of CVT when occurs as part of the APS and compare our series with the patients published in the literature. (2) Methods: We conducted a retrospective observational study collecting data from medical records in three referral centers for APS and CVT, and a systematic review of the literature for CVT cases in APS patients. (3) Results: Twenty-seven APS patients with CVT were identified in our medical records, the majority of them diagnosed as primary APS and with the CVT being the first manifestation of the disease; additional risk factors for thrombosis were identified. The review of the literature yielded 86 cases, with similar characteristics as those of our retrospective series. (4) Conclusions: To our knowledge, our study is the largest CVT series in APS patients published to date, providing a unique point of view in this rare thrombotic manifestation.

Antiphospholipid Antibodies and Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction. The Multicenter ATHERO-APS Study

Background. The prevalence of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) in patients with antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) is unknown. Methods. A prospective multicenter cohort study including 125 patients was conducted: 91 primary APS (PAPS), 18 APS-SLE, and 16 carriers. HFpEF was diagnosed according to the 2019 European Society of Cardiology criteria: patients with ≥5 points among major and minor functional and morphological criteria including NT-ProBNP > 220 pg/mL, left atrial (LA) enlargement, increased left ventricular filling pressure. Results. Overall, 18 (14.4%) patients were diagnosed with HFpEF; this prevalence increased from 6.3% in carriers to 13.2% in PAPS and 27.8% in APS-SLE. Patients with HFpEF were older and with a higher prevalence of hypertension and previous arterial events. At logistic regression analysis, age, arterial hypertension, anticardiolipin antibodies IgG > 40 GPL (odds ratio (OR) 3.43, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.09–10.77, p = 0.035), anti β-2-glycoprotein-I IgG > 40 GPL (OR 5.28, 1.53–18.27, p = 0.009), lupus anticoagulants DRVVT > 1.25 (OR 5.20, 95% CI 1.10–24.68, p = 0.038), and triple positivity (OR 3.56, 95% CI 1.11–11.47, p = 0.033) were associated with HFpEF after adjustment for age and sex. By multivariate analysis, hypertension (OR 19.49, 95% CI 2.21–171.94, p = 0.008), age (OR 1.07, 95% CI 1.00–1.14, p = 0.044), and aβ2GPI IgG > 40 GPL (OR 8.62, 95% CI 1.23–60.44, p = 0.030) were associated with HFpEF. Conclusion. HFpEF is detectable in a relevant proportion of APS patients. The role of aPL in the pathogenesis and prognosis of HFpEF needs further investigation.

Evaluation of the severe preeclampsia classification criterion for antiphospholipid syndrome in a study of 40 patients

Background

The criteria for antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) include severe preeclampsia and/or placental insufficiency leading to preterm delivery before 34 weeks of gestation, but this APS manifestation has been rarely studied. Thus, we report a series of severe preeclampsia occurred in patients with APS.

Methods

We retrospectively analysed data of women with APS (Sydney criteria) who experienced severe preeclampsia with delivery before 34 weeks’ gestation between 2000 and 2017 at five French internal medicine departments and one Italian rheumatology unit.

Results

The 40 women had a mean age of 30.5 ± 4.6 years at their first episode of preeclampsia; 21 were nulligravid (52.5%), 12 (30%) had already been diagnosed with APS, and 21 (52.5%) had a triple-positive antiphospholipid (aPL) antibody test.

Preeclampsia occurred at a median gestational age of 25.5 weeks (IQR 23-29). It was associated with HELLP in 18 cases (45%), eclampsia in 6 (15%), placental abruption in 3 (7.5%), catastrophic APS in 3 (7.5%), and foetal and neonatal death in 11 and 15 cases. Overall, 14 (35%) children survived, born at a median gestational age of 31 weeks.

Among other APS criteria, 16 women (40%) experienced at least one thrombosis, 17 (42.5%) an intrauterine foetal death, and 19 (47.5%) at least one episode of HELLP during follow-up (median 5 years, IQR = 2-8). None had three or more consecutive miscarriages. Notably, 12 women (30%) had systemic lupus erythematosus.

Conclusions

Severe preeclampsia led to high mortality in the offspring. Almost half of these women experienced other APS features, but not three consecutive miscarriages.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13075-021-02518-7.

Patients with SLE have higher risk of cardiovascular events and mortality in comparison with controls with the same levels of traditional risk factors and intima-media measures, which is related to accumulated disease damage and antiphospholipid syndrome: a case-control study over 10 years

OBJECTIVE

SLE is a strong risk factor for premature cardiovascular (CV) disease and mortality. We investigated which factors could explain poor prognosis in SLE compared with controls.

METHODS

Patients with SLE and population controls without history of clinical CV events who performed carotid ultrasound examination were recruited for this study. The outcome was incident CV event and death. Event-free survival rates were compared using Kaplan-Meier curves. Relative HR (95% CI) was used to estimate risk of outcome.

RESULTS

Patients (n=99, 87% female), aged 47 (13) years and with a disease duration of 12 (9) years, had mild disease at inclusion, Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Diseases Activity Index score of 3 (1-6) and Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics (SLICC) Damage Index score of 0 (0-1). The controls (n=109, 91% female) were 49 (12) years old. Baseline carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT) did not differ between the groups, but plaques were more prevalent in patients (p=0.068). During 10.1 (9.8-10.2) years, 12 patients and 4 controls reached the outcome (p=0.022). Compared with the controls, the risk of the adverse outcome in patients increased threefold to fourfold taking into account age, gender, history of smoking and diabetes, family history of CV, baseline body mass index, waist circumference, C reactive protein, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein, low-density lipoprotein, dyslipidaemia, cIMT and presence of carotid plaque. In patients, higher SLICC score and SLE-antiphospholipid syndrome (SLE-APS) were associated with increased risk of the adverse outcome, with respective HRs of 1.66 (95% CI 1.20 to 2.28) and 9.08 (95% CI 2.71 to 30.5), as was cIMT with an HR of 1.006 (95% CI 1.002 to 1.01). The combination of SLICC and SLE-APS with cIMT significantly improved prediction of the adverse outcome (p<0.001).

CONCLUSION

In patients with mild SLE of more than 10 years duration, there is a threefold to fourfold increased risk of CV events and death compared with persons who do not have SLE with similar pattern of traditional CV risk factors, cIMT and presence of carotid plaque. SLICC, SLE-APS and subclinical atherosclerosis may indicate a group at risk of worse outcome in SLE.