Altered bleeding time associated with ibuprofen and zidovudine use

The purpose of this article is to describe a patient who was HIV-positive, had a massive venous ulcer, and developed a prolonged bleeding time with marked blood loss from the ulcer. The patient underwent a workup to rule out possible causes for this prolonged bleeding time; all studies were negative. A review of his history identified that he was self-medicating with ibuprofen while taking zidovudine. A potentiated effect of these two medications on the bleeding time has been reported in the literature. This case illustrates the importance of revisiting a patient's history while working up an acute problem as well as clinically monitoring for blood loss if a person takes ibuprofen and zidovudine.