Antiphospholipid antibodies in patients with bilharzial pulmonary hypertension

ABSTRACT

This study was conducted on 21 patients having bilharzial pulmonary hypertension [BPH], 15 patients with BHS without pulmonary hypertension and 10 healthy subjects as a control group. The patients and controls were subjected to full clinical examination, abdominal ultrasound, plain chest X-ray electrocardiogram, echocardiography with Doppler and analytic methods including some liver function tests, CBC, ESR, coagulation profile, serum creatinine, urine and stool analysis, immunological tests for schistosomiasis [IHA], rectal snip, liver biopsy for pathological diagnosis of bilharziasis for most cases, ACL [IgG and IgM] and ANA. It was found that there was significant increased numbers and percentage age of positive cases of [both IgG and IgM] ACL and ANA in the group of BPH versus control and BPH versus BHS. There was significant correlation between ACL, ANA and ESR in the studied groups. It was concluded that there is an association between both ACL and ANA and the presence of pulmonary hypertension in the patients suggesting a possibility of an autoimmune process contributing to the development of pulmonary hypertension in bilharzial patients