Antiphospholipid antibodies are related to portal vein thrombosis in patients with liver cirrhosis

The pathogenesis of portal vein thrombosis (PVT) in cirrhotic liver patients is not known. PVT has been related to liver dysfunction, neoplasm, hemodynamic factors, and hypercoagulability states. PVT has been reported in patients with antiphospholipid syndrome without liver cirrhosis. Our aim was to find the role of antiphospholipid antibodies (APAs) and coagulation inhibitors in PVT in patients with liver cirrhosis. We present a case-controlled study, matched by age, liver function, and etiology, to discover the role of APAs and anticoagulant protein activity in PVT in cirrhotic patients. We studied 30 cirrhotic patients: 6 of 10 (60%) patients with PVT were APA-positive, whereas only 2 of 20 (10%) in the cirrhotic control group were APA-positive (p < 0.005). Low serum levels of protein C, protein S antithrombin III, and plasminogen were found in cirrhotic patients; and, no differences were found between patients with and without PVT. Significantly lower protein S and antithrombin III levels were found in patients with Child-Pugh class C, Therefore, APAs were related to PVT in cirrhotic patients; but, a lower concentration of coagulation inhibitors was associated with liver dysfunction alone.