ABSTRACT
Antiphospholipid antibodies [aPL] are a heterogeneous family of antibodies associated with thrombosis and other complications. To study the prevalence of aPL in patients with thrombosis at Aleppo University Hospitals, Syria. One hundred and fifty-seven patients with venous and arterial thrombosis and 63 healthy controls were studied. Anticardiolipin antibodies [aCL] and Lupus anticoagulant [LA] were determined. Thirty-four out of 157 [21.7%] patients with thrombosis had some type of aPL. aPL was also found in four healthy subjects [4/63=6.3%]. Eighteen patients [11.5%] were positive for LA, 20 [12.7%] for aCL antibodies and 4 [2.6%] were positive for more than one aPL. Patients without risk factors for thrombosis and having positive aPL were 23/34 [67.7%]. Fourteen out of 78 [17.9%] patients with arterial thrombosis, and 20/79 [25.3%] with venous thrombosis were positive for at least one aPL. Our study showed a significant prevalence of aPL in patients with thrombosis. It seems that aPL is a risk factor for venous and arterial thrombosis, especially in patients with no conventional risk factors