Thrombophilia profile in Thai patients with arterial thrombotic disorders

Arterial thrombosis is attributed mainly to atherosclerosis and the roles of hypercoagulability remain unclear In addition, there are ethnic variations in thrombophilia profiles.

The authors performed a survey of the thrombophilia profile in Thai patients with arterial thrombosis

The authors analyzed 103 consecutive cases of proven arterial thrombosis and requested thrombophilia profile in Chulalongkorn Hospital during 2003-2004. The mean age was 42.5 years. The proportions of stroke, peripheral arteries, and other sites were 70.9%, 22.3% and 6.8%, respectively.

Abnormal profile was found in 35.0% with the prevalence of hyperhomocysteinemia, low protein S, antiphospholipid antibody and low protein C was 15.5%, 12.6%, 9.7%, and 5.8%, respectively. There was no difference in clinical characteristics between cases with or without detectable abnormalities. However, the authors found significant associations of low protein S with poor outcome and HIV seropositivity with antiphospholipid.

The present study found that the defective protein C pathway may be the most common thrombophilia found in Thais with arterial thrombosis. Future study is required to prove the cause-effect relationship and its clinical significance.