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Thrombosis resulting from heparin therapy
1Department of Pharmacy, William Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak, Michigan, USA.
Heparin is widely used in current practice for a variety of indications. It is well known that it can cause thrombocytopenia, but not that thrombosis may also develop in thrombocytopenic patients and cause significant morbidity and mortality. A 56-year-old woman developed heparin-induced thrombocytopenia with thrombosis that resulted in the amputation of her leg. It is proposed that the reaction has an immune-mediated mechanism. Several ways of diagnosing the condition are available, specifically the serotonin-release assay and an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The investigational agent danaproid may be effective in the treatment of heparin-induced thrombocytopenia with thrombosis.
Heparin is widely used in current practice for a variety of indications. It is well known that it can cause thrombocytopenia, but not that thrombosis may also develop in thrombocytopenic patients and cause significant morbidity and mortality. A 56-year-old woman developed heparin-induced thrombocytopenia with thrombosis that resulted in the amputation of her leg. It is proposed that the reaction has an immune-mediated mechanism. Several ways of diagnosing the condition are available, specifically the serotonin-release assay and an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The investigational agent danaproid may be effective in the treatment of heparin-induced thrombocytopenia with thrombosis.