Discoid lupus in antiphospholipid syndrome: case description and literature review

The aim of the study was to report about a patient with discoid lupus erythematosus (DLE) who developed antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) 12 years after DLE diagnosis and review related literature.

This is a case report of a 34-year-old woman with DLE who developed APS. A review of articles published in the PubMed/MEDLINE, LILACS, and SciELO databases from 1966 to October 2020 was conducted using the following search terms: "antiphospholipid syndrome," "antiphospholipid antibodies," and "discoid lupus erythematosus" No language limitation was applied.

Besides the present case, 5 case reports were identified. One case-control and two cross-sectional studies on antiphospholipid antibodies with or without APS in DLE were also reviewed. These studies revealed that APS can develop even 37 years after DLE was diagnosed. The case-control study found that patients with DLE have more anticardiolipin antibodies than controls. In contrast, one cross-sectional study showed a low prevalence of antiphospholipid antibodies in their group of patients, which was similar to findings in the general population.

This study reviewed previous articles on DLE cases associated with antiphospholipid antibodies and/or APS, adding a new case description.