management of lupus anticoagulant

Last reviewed 01/2018

Prednisolone usually eliminates lupus anticoagulant and it is claimed, reduces the risk of spontaneous abortions.

Patients with thromboses should be treated with oral anticoagulants in standard dose. Heparin therapy is difficult to monitor due to the artificially prolonged PTT.

low dose aspirin in SLE patients (1):

  • patients with SLE and any additional cardiovascular risk factor patients and patients who are positive for antiphospholipid antibodies or the lupus anticoagulant should be treated with low-dose aspirin
  • does not appear to be an additional benefit of aspirin in patients with the antiphospholipid syndrome already treated with warfarin

Reference:

  1. ARC. Management of cardiovascular disease in RA and SLE. Hands On 2006;8:1-4.