Association of lupus anticoagulant with polyarteritis nodosa: report of a case.

A patient with a documented diagnosis of polyarteritis nodosa and laboratory evidence of a circulating lupus anticoagulant is described. Additional clinical features suggestive of the antiphospholipid antibody syndrome were found. The patient underwent amputation of the first two digits of the foot due to ischemic necrosis. Steroid and immunosuppressive treatment resulted in clinical improvement and disappearance of the circulating anticoagulant, without necessitating additional treatment with oral anticoagulants. The presence of the lupus anticoagulant might have worsened the vascular damage done by polyarteritis nodosa in this patient.