Vaskulárna medicína 1/2011

Heparin-induced thrombocytopenia – case report

Heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT) is a life-threatening adverse effect of heparin. It is important because of its strong association with venous and arterial thrombosis. The thrombotic tendency in HIT is caused by immune-mediated platelet activation. A diagnosis of HIT should be suspected if the platelet count falls by 50% or more of the baseline count during 5 to 15 days of heparin treatment. When HIT is suspected, heparin should be discontinued, and should be replaced with an alterantive anticoagulant that does not cross-react with HIT antibodies. Authors presents case report of patient with HIT and life-threatening pulmonary embolism.

Keywords: heparin, thrombocytopenia, thrombosis