Factor V Inhibitor Developing After Liver Transplantation in a 3-Year-Old Child

Acquired inhibitors of blood coagulation have been recognized with increasing frequency since the classic review by Margolius et al in 1961.1 The most common acquired inhibitor is directed against factor VIII and usually arises in patients with classical hemophilia.2 Inhibitors directed against factor V are considered rare; only 30 cases have been reported in the literature.3-6 The majority of these cases occur in patients olden than 60 years and many have arisen following major surgical operations. Patients present with variable bleeding tendency and a prolonged partial thromboplastin time (PTT) and prothrombin time (PT), which fail to correct with the addition of normal plasma.