Summary
It has been recently suggested that the clinical phenotype of severe hemophilia A
(HA) is influenced by co-inheritance with the factor V G1691A mutation. We therefore
investigated 124 pediatric PUP patients with hemophilia (A: n = 111) consecutively
admitted to German pediatric hemophilia treatment centers. In addition to factor VIII
activity, the factor V (FV) G1691A mutation, the prothrombin (PT) G20210A variant,
antithrombin, protein C, protein S and anti-thrombin were investigated. 92 out of
111 HA patients (F VIII activity < 1%) were suffering from severe HA. The prevalence
of prothrombotic risk factors in children with severe HA was no different from previously
reported data: FV G1691A 6.5%, PT G20201A 3.2%, and protein C type I deficiency 1.1%.
No deficiency states of antithrombin or protein S were found in this cohort of hemophilic
patients. The first symptomatic bleeding leading to diagnosis of severe hemophilia
(< 1%) occurred with a median (range) age of 1.6 years (0.5-7.1) in children carrying
defects within the protein C pathway or the PT gene mutation compared with non-carriers
of prothrombotic risk factors (0.9 years (0.1-4.0; p = 0.01). The cumulative event-free
bleeding survival was significantly prolonged in children carrying additionally prothrombotic
defects (log-rank/Mantel-Cox: p = 0.0098). In conclusion, data of this multicenter
cohort study clearly demonstrate that the first symptomatic bleeding onset in children
with severe HA carrying prothrombotic risk factors is significantly later in life
than in non-carriers.
Keywords
Severe hemophilia A - pediatric PUP patients - factor V G1691A - prothrombin G20210A