Introduction: Our aim was to report the cutaneous features of antiphospholipid antibodies syndrome in Dermatology in Dakar.
Methods: Our study was retrospective from January 2000 to December 2001. All patients were diagnosed according to the criteria of the international consensus statement in 1999 on the antiphospholipid antibodies.
Results: Eleven cases (all female) were collected with a median age of 28 years. A systemic lupus was associated in 7 cases, a scleroderma in 1 case and mix connectivity in 1 case. The dermatological manifestations found in all patients were necrosis of the extremities (4 cases), purpuric lesions (4), cutaneous ulcers (3), acrocyanosis (2), livedo (1) and subungual splinter hemorrhage (1). The obstetrical incidents were noted in 82% of cases; there were precocious and repeated abortions (in 5 cases), foetal loss (in 4 patients), precocious delivery (in 2 cases), lateness of growth in uterus (in 1 case). It was an arterial thrombosis in 2 cases. The mean level of anticardiolipin antibodies was 60 UGPL and a dissociation of the syphilitic serology was present in 9 patients. A severe thrombopenia in 1 case was observed. The evolution was favorable in 7 patients. In other cases, we noted foetal loss in 2 cases and distal necrosis relapse in 2 cases.
Conclusion: Cutaneous manifestations are diverse. They can be lupus involvements or microcirculatory thrombosis and they make the diagnostic easy.