Treatment of Libman-Sacks endocarditis by combination of warfarin and immunosuppressive therapy

• Main Authors: Mehmet Rasih Sonsöz, Rukiye Dilara Tekin, Ahmet Gül, Zehra Buğra, Dursun Atılgan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: KARE Publishing 2019-12-01
• Series: Türk Kardiyoloji Derneği Arşivi
• Subjects: antiphospholipid syndrome; immunosuppressive therapy; libman-sacks endocarditis; systemic lupus erythematosus; warfarin.
• Online Access: https://jag.journalagent.com/z4/download_fulltext.asp?pdir=tkd&un=TKDA-29213

Antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) is a clinical disorder that creates an increased risk of arterial or venous thrombotic events or pregnancy-associated complications and includes the presence of autoantibodies against negatively charged phospholipids. This syndrome is often associated with systemic autoimmune diseases, such as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Libman-Sacks endocarditis is a form of non-bacterial thrombotic endocarditis and is infrequently seen in APS. There are few data documenting the echocardiographic response of APS valve disease to medical treatment. This is an unusual case of a young female patient with SLE and APS who had chorea and non-bacterial thrombotic aortic valve endocarditis. Echocardiography revealed that the vegetation had receded after a combination of warfarin and immunosuppressive therapy.