THE DIAGNOSTIC AND PROGNOSTIC VALUES OF ANTIHEPAlUN ANTIBODIES IN PEDiATRIC CONNECTIVE TISSUE DiSEASES

Abstract

The present study aimed to assess the level of antiheparin antibodies in children suffering from systemic. lupus erythematosus and other connective tissue diseases as Rh.A, antiphospholipid syndrome, dennatomyocitis in order to correlate the presence of these antibodies with the severity of the disease and to the presence of some clinical manifestations as vasculitis and/or overt renal affection in these patients.

Subjects included 40 children suffering from com1ective tissue disease, who attended the Pediatric Allergy and Immunology Clinical in Children's Hospital, Ain Shams University for regular follow up visit. According to the type of connective tissue disease, these patients were classified into two groups: The first group included 18 patients with systemic lupus erythematosus. Their ages ranged between 5 and 16 years. (12.94 ± 3.4). One was male and 17 were females. The mean disease duration range 2.97 ± 2.27 years. Thirteen patients wee suffering

from activity of the disease while four patients were in remtsswn.