title: Acquired circulating anticoagulants in children with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.
abstract: The mechanism underlying the prolonged activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) seen in some pediatric patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and opportunistic infections was studied. A circulating inhibitor of coagulation was demonstrated in three patients. The inhibitor appears to be an immunoglobulin that interferes with some of the phospolipid-dependent coagulation reactions of the intrinsic pathway. This "AIDS anticoagulant" does not predispose the patient to clinical bleeding despite its ability to cause a marked prolongation of the APTT. As such, careful laboratory diagnosis of the cause of abnormal coagulation test results is necessary for children with AIDS.
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York 10461.
authors.forename: E R
authors.initials: ER
authors.lastname: Burns
authors.forename: B Z
authors.initials: BZ
authors.lastname: Krieger
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bernstein
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rubinstein
mesh_terms: D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000097:blood*; D001777:Blood Coagulation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D010314:Partial Thromboplastin Time