PSEUDOTHROMBOANGIITIS OBLITERANS AND QUAL ITATIVE PROTEIN-C DEFECT - A CASE-REPORT

Thromboangiitis obliterans is a segmental obliterating inflammatory ar teritis, usually found in young (below 40) smoking males. Its diagnosi s relies on patient history, clinical features, arterial angiography, and more rarely on pathological findings, though none of these is spec ific of the disease, and on the absence of other diseases such as earl y atheroma, thromboembolic processes, vascular malformation, trauma, c ollagen or blood disorders. Raynaud's phenomenon, digital arteritis, s uperficial and often migrating venous thromboses are further arguments for the disease. However, such associations can also occur during oth er diseases, especially congenital or acquired deficits in coagulation factors (antiphospholipid syndrome, S protein deficiency...). In our patient with suspected thromboangiitis obliterans, the occurence of su perior longitudinal and right lateral sinus thrombosis led to the disc overy of a qualitative C protein defect. This observation stresses the need for careful elimination of a coagulation disorder before confirm ing the diagnosis of thromboangiitis obliterans (J Mal Vasc 1996; 21 : pages 47-49).