Question

All of the following statements about antiphospholipid antibody syndrome (APLA) are true except:

• A. Single titre anticardiolipin is diagnostic
• B. Commonly presents with recurrent fetal loss
• C. May cause pulmonary hypertension
• D. Warfarin is given as treatment

Hint:

APLA needs a positive antibody on two occasions 12 weeks apart, not one.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is A

Sort each option by what it would take to be correct, and the false one stands out.

For diagnosis, the rule is repetition. A positive antibody on one day is not enough, because infections and other causes throw up transient false positives. The formal criteria demand a positive result on two separate occasions spaced at least twelve weeks apart, combined with a clinical clotting or pregnancy event. So calling a single anticardiolipin titre diagnostic is wrong, and that is the answer.

The remaining lines hold up. Recurrent miscarriage from placental clotting is a classic presenting picture and is built into the diagnostic criteria. Repeated clots reaching the lungs, plus thrombosis in small pulmonary vessels, can drive up pulmonary artery pressure, so pulmonary hypertension is a known consequence. And once a clot has occurred, lifelong oral anticoagulation with warfarin is the standard treatment to prevent recurrence.

Hence the only false statement is that one antibody reading settles the diagnosis.
\[\boxed{\text{Single titre anticardiolipin is diagnostic}}\]