ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the authors review the data available on the time relationship between development of Antiphospholipid Syndrome (APS) and the other manifestations of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE); the course of the APS within SLE. They also review the the data available on course of antiphospholipid antibodies in SLE patients and its relationship to disease activity, clinical manifestations, and treatment; and the prognosis that the presence of APS confers on SLE patients. Some patients with primary APS may have severe hypercoagulability syndromes, particularly when coumadin was stopped; some died. Data on the course and prognosis of APS is available mostly because large cohorts of SLE patients have been available in some centers. Thrombocytopenia and leg ulcers tended to occur early in the course of SLE in patients with Lupus anticoagulants. thrombocytopenia and hemolytic anemia, which, if symptomatic, constitute the so-called Fisher-Evans syndrome.
