Terrible APS — a newly defined variant of severe APS

Introduction: Antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) presents with various clinical features and some patients exhibit progressive, refractory disease that does not meet the catastrophic APS (cAPS) criteria. This study describes a new subcategory of APS patients, "Terrible APS" (TrAPS), characterized by recurrent thrombosis despite optimal anticoagulation, often requiring immunomodulation or surgery. Methods: We analyzed 306 primary APS patients, excluding those with obstetric, non-criteria APS, or cAPS. TrAPS was defined as >2 breakthrough thrombotic events despite anticoagulation (without provocation or cardiovascular risk) or the need for >1 immunomodulatory or surgical intervention. Results: . 5.1%) and anticoagulant resistance (81.4% with breakthrough events). Based on multivariate analysis, we identified four key predictors that formed the basis of the TrAPScore: severe thrombocytopenia (6 had a positive predictive value (PPV) of 78%-82.5%, while a score 6 predicted a high likelihood of severe, refractory disease while effectively excluding TrAPS.