Acquired Factor VIII autoantibody: four cases demonstrating the heterogenous nature of this condition and problems involved in diagnosis and treatment

The development of an autoantibody to human Factor VIII is rare and present s many problems for diagnosis and treatment. We have seen several cases at our institution recently with widely heterogenous clinical and laboratory p resentations. A wide range of treatment modalities were used in these cases with no gold standard of treatment or widely accepted guidelines existing. This has prompted us to examine all cases of this condition presenting at Fremantle Hospital over the last decade. We describe four cases which demon strate the heterogeneity of this condition and its treatment and review the recent literature on the subject.