REVIEW ARTICLE Antiprothrombin Antibodies: Detection and Clinical Significance in the Antiphospholipid Syndrome

ANTIPHOSPHOLIPID antibodies have been associatedwith a variety of clinical phenomena, including arterial and venous thrombosis, thrombocytopenia, and obstetric com-plications. The term ‘‘antiphospholipid syndrome’’1 is used to link a variety of thromboembolic events to antibodies against specific proteins involved in blood coagulation. Thrombotic events are reported in approximately 30 % of patients with antiphospholipid antibodies,2,3 with an overall incidence of 2.5 % patients/yr.4 Deep vein thrombosis of the legs and/or pulmonary embolism account for about two thirds of the thrombotic events, and cerebral arterial thrombosis are the most common arterial complications.2,3 Obstetric complications in-clude recurrent spontaneous miscarriages, fetal deaths, or fetal growth retardations.5 Women with antiphospholipid antibodies are particularly prone to second or early third trimester fetal deaths.6 Hypoxia secondary to spiral arterial vasculopathy i