Objective To explore the expression of coagulation indexes in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and dry syndrome (pSS) and their relationships with inflammation and immune function. Methods A total of 61 patients with RA who were hospitalized in the Department of Rheumatology of Anhui Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine from March 12 to September 9, 2024 were selected as the RA group. And 61 patients with pSS who were hospitalized in the Department of Rheumatology of the same hospital September 4, 2023, to August 17, 2024, were selected as the pSS group. 61 healthy individuals who underwent routine medical checkups at the Physical Examination Center of Anhui Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine during the same period were included as the control group. Baseline clinical indexes before treatment were collected from patients in each group, including prothrombin time(PT), international normalized ratio(INR), thrombia time(TT), fibrinogen(FBG), activated partial thromboplastin time(APTT), fibrin (ogen) degradation products(FDP) and D-Dimer(D-D). Results The expression levels of PT, FBG, TT, FDP, and D-D in the RA group, the pSS group, and the normal group were significantly different. The expression levels of PT, FBG, FDP, and D-D in the RA group were all higher than those in the pSS group and the control group, respectively. And the expression level of TT in the pSS group was lower than that in control group. ROC curve analysis showed that the AUC of PT was 0.638, the AUC of FBG was 0.899, the AUC of FDP was 0.866, and the AUC of D-D was 0.919 in the RA group compared with the normal group. And the AUC of coagulation indexes for joint diagnosis of RA was higher than that of the indexes detected individually. pSS group had an AUC of PT of 0.618 compared with that of the normal group. The AUC of TT was 0.645, and the AUC of coagulation indexes for the joint diagnosis of pSS was higher than the AUC of each index detected separately. Association rule analysis showed that elevated D-D in RA patients had a significant correlation with elevated hs-CRP, CCP and RF, and elevated FBG had a significant correlation with elevated hs-CRP, ESR, RF and CCP. Elevated D-D in pSS patients had a correlation with elevated hs-CRP and anti-SSA, and elevated INR has correlation with elevated hs-CRP, anti-SSA and anti-SSB. Correlation analysis showed that PT, INR, FBG, FDP, and D-D were positively correlated with CRP and ESR, and TT was negatively correlated with CRP and ESR in the RA group. FBG, FDP, and D-D were positively correlated with CRP and ESR in the pSS group. Moreover, coagulation indexes were positively correlated with immune indexes in RA group and pSS group which were all significant. The results of multiple linear regression analysis showed that FBG was a positive correlate of hs-CRP and ESR in RA patients. For PSS patients, FBG and FDP were positive correlates of hs-CRP. APTT and FBG were positive correlates of ESR. Conclusion Compared with pSS, coagulation indexes (especially PT, FBG, FDP and D-D) are more informative for the early diagnosis of RA and the judgment of the degree of the disease, and can be used as an important predictor for the confirmation of the diagnosis of RA.
Humans ; Female ; Male ; Arthritis, Rheumatoid/diagnosis* ; Middle Aged ; Fibrin Fibrinogen Degradation Products/analysis* ; Blood Coagulation ; Adult ; Fibrinogen/metabolism* ; Partial Thromboplastin Time ; Prothrombin Time ; Aged ; Inflammation/immunology* ; ROC Curve

OBJECTIVE: To observe the clinical effect of plasma exchange and tocilizumab in treatment of patients with severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). METHODS: Six patients with severe COVID-19 admitted in First Affiliated Hospital of Bengbu Medical College from January 25 to February 25, 2020. Three patients were treated with plasma exchange and three patients were treated with tocilizumab. The effect on excessive inflammatory reaction of plasma exchange and tocilizumab was observed. RESULTS: The C-reactive protein (CRP) and IL-6 levels were significantly decreased and the lymphocyte and prothrombin time were improved in 3 patients after treatment with plasma exchange; while inflammation level was not significantly decreased, and lymphocyte and prothrombin time did not improve in 3 patients treated with tocilizumab. CONCLUSIONS For severe COVID-19 patients with strong inflammatory reaction, plasma exchange may be preferred.
Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized ; administration & dosage ; Betacoronavirus ; isolation & purification ; Coronavirus Infections ; blood ; immunology ; therapy ; Cytokine Release Syndrome ; therapy ; Humans ; Pandemics ; Plasma Exchange ; standards ; Pneumonia, Viral ; blood ; immunology ; therapy ; Prothrombin Time ; Treatment Outcome

BACKGROUND: The presence of lupus anticoagulants (LA) is a strong risk factor for thrombosis in antiphospholipid syndrome. We investigated the usefulness of addition of silica clotting time (SCT) to the pre-existing dilute Russell's viper venom test (dRVVT) for detection of LA. Also, we analyzed differences in the thrombotic features and the characteristics of antiphospholipid antibodies between dRVVT and SCT. METHODS: A total of 167 patients positive for LA or anti-cardiolipin (anti-CL) antibody and 76 healthy controls were enrolled. The dRVVT and SCT were used for detection of LA. Anti-CL, anti-beta2-glycoprotein I (anti-beta2 GPI) and anti-prothrombin (anti-PT) antibodies were measured using commercial ELISA kits. RESULTS: In detection of thrombosis, the sensitivity of the combined test of SCT and dRVVT was 56.4%, which was higher than that of dRVVT alone (46.2%) or SCT alone (23.1%). The specificity of the combined test (80.9%) was comparable to that of dRVVT (81.9%). Also, odds ratio for predicting thrombosis was higher in the combined test than in dRVVT or SCT alone. When normalized LA ratio of the two tests was compared, the group of patients with higher ratio of SCT showed significantly higher prevalence of recurrent abortion and higher positivity of IgG types of anti-CL, anti-beta2 GPI and anti-PT than the group with higher ratio of dRVVT. CONCLUSIONS: Addition of SCT to dRVVT can improve the detection sensitivity of thrombosis in LA test. And the high normalized LA ratio of SCT may be a useful parameter for detection of recurrent abortion.
Adult ; Aged ; Antibodies, Anticardiolipin/analysis ; Antibodies, Antiphospholipid/analysis ; Blood Coagulation Tests/*methods ; Female ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin G/analysis ; Immunoglobulin M/analysis ; Lupus Coagulation Inhibitor/*blood ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prothrombin/immunology ; Prothrombin Time/methods ; Reagent Kits, Diagnostic ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Silicon Dioxide/*chemistry ; Thrombosis/diagnosis ; beta 2-Glycoprotein I/immunology

The presence of lupus anticoagulant is associated with an elevated risk of venous and arterial thrombosis, and recurrent miscarriages as well. For some cases, this disease can present with bleeding as a consequence of lupus anticoagulant hypoprothrombinemia (LAHPS). LAHPS is a rare disease and it is reported to be most frequent in young females with/without systemic lupus erythematosus or in healthy children who are suffering with a viral infection. In such cases, steroid therapy is usually effective in normalizing the biological abnormalities and controlling the bleeding problems. A 34-year-old previously healthy man was admitted to our department because of his prolonged coagulation times; these abnormalities were discovered before performing orthopedic surgery. The prothrombin time (PT) was 15.2 sec, and the activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) was 37.7 sec. A 1:1 dilution of patient plasma with normal plasma nearly corrected the PT, but this failed to correct the APTT. Evaluation of the clotting factors revealed decreased levels of factors II, V, VIII, IX and XI. The presence of LA was demonstrated by the dRVVT test, and the patient was diagnosed with LAHPS. He was successfully treated with corticosteroid before performing the orthopedic surgery.
Adrenal Cortex Hormones/therapeutic use ; Adult ; Humans ; Hypoprothrombinemias/*diagnosis/drug therapy/immunology/physiopathology ; Lupus Coagulation Inhibitor/*immunology ; Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic/*diagnosis/immunology/physiopathology ; Male ; Partial Thromboplastin Time ; Preoperative Care ; Prothrombin Time