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Correction of Severe Heparin-Associated Thrombocytopenia with Intravenous Immunoglobulin
- James N. Frame, MD;
- Kevin P. Mulvey, MD;
- John C. Phares, MD; and
- Michael J. Anderson, MD
Excerpt
Heparin-associated thrombocytopenia develops in approximately 5% of patients treated with heparin (1) and generally occurs after 2 to 10 days of therapy (2). While platelets usually increase to over 100 X 109/L within 2 to 19 days after heparin discontinuation (3), this disorder rarely causes clinical bleeding or warrants platelet transfusion. We report the first case of severe heparin-associated thrombocytopenia complicated by intestinal bleeding and progressive thrombocytopenia that had intestinal bleeding stopped and normal platelet counts restored shortly after the administration of intravenous immunoglobulin.
Case Report
A 62-year-old woman was referred to us with a 5-day history of deep venous
Note in Proof
The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Department of the Navy, the Department of Defense, or the U.S. government.
Acknowledgments
Acknowledgments: The authors thank Joan Linville for manuscript preparation.
Article and Author Information
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From the National Naval Medical Center and the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, Maryland. For current author addresses, see end of text.
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Requests for Reprints: James N. Frame, MD, Box 687, National Naval Medical Center, Bethesda, MD 20814-5000.
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Current Author Addresses: Drs. Frame, Mulvey, Phares, and Anderson: National Naval Medical Center, Bethesda, MD 20814-5000.
