Management of end-stage renal disease patients with antiphospholipid antibody syndrome

End-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients with antiphospholipid antibody syndrome (APAS) remain at high risk for the development of posttransplant renal thrombosis without the benefit of anticoagulation therapy. This study describes the clinical management of these high-risk patients on anticoagulation therapy.

In this study period, 802 patients awaiting renal transplantation were screened for APAS. Twenty-seven of these patients (3%) had APAS. Of these 27, nine patients received cadaveric kidney transplants along with 409 patients who did not have APAS. Of the nine patients, seven were treated with coumadin and the remaining two were treated with heparin.

Of the seven patients treated with coumadin, five did not have thrombotic complications posttransplant. However, three of these patients were taken off coumadin due to bleeding complications at 6 months to 1 year posttransplant. They all returned to dialysis shortly thereafter. The remaining two patients have maintained their allografts on coumadin therapy for 3 and 5 years posttransplants. The other two patients had posttransplant renal thrombosis within 24 hours of their transplant despite coumadin therapy. Of the two patients treated with heparin, one is doing well at 6 years posttransplant while the other had early allograft loss due to thrombosis.

ESRD patients with APAS may benefit from anticoagulation therapy; however, early allograft loss and bleeding complication are two serious side effects of this therapy.