[Acquired Willebrand syndrome with lymphoproliferative disorders]. / Syndrome de Willebrand acquis avec désordres lymphoprolifératifs.

INTRODUCTION: Willebrand's syndrome is rarely acquired. We report four cases associated with lymphoproliferative syndromes. CASE REPORTS: We observed four patients with lymphoid hemopathies who developed acquired Willebrand's syndrome. Two patients had Waldenström's disease (kappa), one had a monoclonal gammapathy of undetermined signification (kappa immunoglobulin M) and the fourth had chronic lymphoid leukemia with mast cell infiltration of the skin. Anti-vWFRCo antibodies were evidenced in only 1 case. Chemotherapy, used in 3 cases, improved hemostasis in one patient. Intravenous immunoglobulins (1 patient) and desmopressin (2 patients) were ineffective. The pathogenic mechanisms and possible therapeutic approaches to acquired Willebrand's syndrome are discussed. DISCUSSION: Acquired Willebrand's syndrome rarely occurs in association with lymphoproliferative disorders appears to be uncommon but the frequency is probably underestimated because appropriate tests are not always performed. The diagnostic search is important however since the hemostasis disorders due to acquired Willebrand's syndrome could be corrected if appropriate etiological treatment is given.

Incidence of factor VIII inhibitor development in severe hemophilia A patients treated only with one brand of highly purified plasma-derived concentrate.

The incidence of factor VIII inhibitor was studied in a cohort of 56 previously untreated patients with severe hemophilia A (factor VIII below 1 U/dl). They received only one brand of highly purified factor VIII concentrate (HPSD-VIII) prepared by conventional chromatography with a solvent-detergent step for viral inactivation. Follow-up since the first infusion of HPSD-VIII was from 1 to 76 months (mean = 29) and cumulative exposure days (CED) from 1 to over 100 (median = 26). Five patients (9%) developed an inhibitor after 6 to 19 CED, only one being a high responder (2%), showing a low incidence of inhibitor compared with previous studies using high purity plasma-derived or recombinant products.

[Tooth extraction in hemophiliacs and patients with von Willebrand's disease. Therapeutic proposals apropos of 26 cases]. / Les extractions dentaires chez les hémophiles et les porteurs de la maladie de Willebrand. Propositions thérapeutiques à propos de 26 observations.

Extensive bleeding is an important complication of dental extractions in haemophiliacs. Based on 26 case reports, the different therapeutic possibilities are discussed. When general or regional anaesthesia is required, protocols can be proposed for coagulation factor supplementation or even treatment with Minirin. In cases with local anaesthesia, substitution is not required. The importance of mandatory local haemostatic measures combined with antifibrinolytic treatment is emphasized.

[Acquired hemophilia and rheumatoid arthritis. Value of intravenous immunoglobulins]. / Hemophilie acquise et polyarthrite rhumatoïde. Intérêt des immunoglobulines intra-veineuses.

The authors report an exceedingly rare complication of rheumatoid arthritis, i.e. acquired hemophilia due to anti-factor VIII autoantibody production. Treatment with intravenous immune globulin ensured control of hemorrhagic manifestations by inducing a transient rise in factor VIII level.

Comparison of anti-human and anti-porcine factor VIII inhibitor levels in 63 patients with severe haemophilia A. A French Multicentric Study.

The levels of anti-human and anti-porcine factor VIII inhibitors, measured in 63 severe haemophilia A patients, lay in the ranges of < 0.2-2,600 and < 0.2-1,300 Bethesda units per ml (BU/ml), respectively, with a median cross-reactivity of 33%. In 4 patients, human and porcine inhibitor levels were determined using both plasma, either human or porcine, and factor VIII concentrate, either very high purity human or porcine (Hyate:C). A good correlation between titres was found, whatever the source of factor VIII (plasma or concentrate). The cross-reactivity varies from 0 to over 100%, indicating that the evaluation of both human and porcine inhibitors should be mandatory before any treatment with Hyate:C. Results show that of the 46 patients with human inhibitor of more than 5 BU/ml, 21 (46%) with a low porcine inhibitor (< 5 BU/ml) could benefit from Hyate:C.

[Antiphospholipid syndrome. Proposition for management]. / Le syndrome antiphospholipides. Proposition pour une conduite à tenir.

Antiphospholipid antibodies (antiprothrombinase and anticardiolipin) carry with them for mothers the risks of repeated fetal loss and of disorders of the blood clotting mechanism both before and after delivery. All the same screening does not have to be carried out routinely but should be reserved for patients who have already lost one fetus (intrauterine death after 12 weeks of amenorrhoea) and/or venous or arterial thrombosis. The diagnosis depends on a strict methodology and strict criteria for making a positive diagnosis. The treatment of these antibodies (with corticosteroids and intravenous immunoglobulin) or the prevention of possible thrombotic complications (using platelet antiaggregation/heparin) has to be decided taking into account the level of antibodies, previous obstetric and thrombotic history and the lupus symptomatology as shown by the patients. The overall success rate of treatment is between 53 and 81%.