The current status of antiplatelet antibodies

The importance of antiplatelet antibodies in clinical medicine was first recognized in 1951. Since that time, a number of syndromes have been described, including autoimmune thrombocytopenia purpura, posttransfusion purpura, neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia, and drug-induced thrombocytopenia purpura, that fit into the category of immunologic thrombocytopenias. The laboratory methods for detecting the antiplatelet antibodies present in these diseases are enumerated and discussed along with the currently recognized platelet-specific antigens. Because of the complexities of performance and the lack of agreement among many of the available procedures, it is recommended that antiplatelet antibody testing remain primarily a research tool for the present time.