[Transient Hemorrhagic Diathesis Caused by Prothrombin-binding Antiphospholipid Antibody in a Child]

We describe three previously healthy children who developed acute extensive bruises about two weeks after a mild stomach bug. Coagulation tests revealed a shortened thromboplastin time (TT), long PT time, low level of coagulation factor II, and positive lupus anticoagulant among the antiphospholipid antibodies. In one patient the clinical symptoms disappeared during a one-week course of prednisolone, another one received a prothrombin complex preparation as substitution therapy. In the third patient the symptoms were milder and vanished without any specific treatment. The levels of coagulation factor increased in all patients and the lupus anticoagulant disappeared within a couple of months.