12-01-2010, 03:37 PM
24 year old woman presents to the Emergency Room with complaints of left sided weakness and slurred speech. The patient has history of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus. Her SLE was diagnosed 2 years ago when she had malar rash and abnormal blood counts. She reports that she has not received any treatment for it since her physician felt this was not needed at that time. She denies any history of kidney involvement. She denies any joint pains or rash. Physical examination revealed left hemiparesis consistent with cerebrovascular accident. A CT of the head reveals right parietal infarct with out any bleed. An EKG is obtained and is normal. Anti-cardiolipin antibody is +ve which was also positive 1 year ago as per her old records . The patient is started on adequate therapy and follows up in your office 1 month later. Which of the following interventions is most appropriate to prevent recurrent stroke in her case?
a) Aspirin for life
b) Warfarin for 1 year
c) Warfarin for 6 months
d) Warfarin for life
e) Hydroxychloroquine
a) Aspirin for life
b) Warfarin for 1 year
c) Warfarin for 6 months
d) Warfarin for life
e) Hydroxychloroquine