[Thromboembolic events in heparin-induced thrombocytopenia]

Thrombocytopenia following heparin treatment appears in 5% of patients so treated. In 20% of such patients paradoxical thromboembolic phenomena may be associated with the thrombocytopenia. This process is most probably mediated via an antibody reaction against a heparin-platelet complex. We present a 70-year-old woman with recurrent episodes of lower extremity thrombophlebitis associated with thrombocytopenia following treatment with heparin for pulmonary embolism.