CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Semin Thromb Hemost 2015; 41(01): 049-060
DOI: 10.1055/s-0034-1398381
Review Article
Thieme Medical Publishers 333 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001, USA.

Heparin-Induced Thrombocytopenia in Critically Ill Patients

Theodore E. Warkentin
1   Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine, Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
2   Department of Medicine, Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
› Author Affiliations
Further Information

Publication History

Publication Date:
15 January 2015 (online)

Abstract

Many critically ill patients receive heparin, either before intensive care unit (ICU) admission (e.g., postcardiac surgery), for prophylaxis/treatment of thrombosis, for hemodialysis/filtration, or even incidentally (e.g., flushing of intravascular catheters), and are therefore at risk for developing immune heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT), a prothrombotic drug reaction caused by platelet-activating antiplatelet factor 4 (PF4)/heparin antibodies. However, HIT explains at most 1 in 100 thrombocytopenic ICU patients (HIT frequency 0.3–0.5% vs. 30–50% background frequency of ICU-associated thrombocytopenia), and most patients who form anti-PF4/heparin antibodies do not develop HIT; hence, HIT overdiagnosis often occurs. This review discusses HIT-related issues relevant to ICU patients, including how to (1) distinguish HIT both clinically and serologically from non-HIT–related thrombocytopenia; (2) recognize HIT-mimicking disorders, such as the acute disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC)/liver necrosis-limb necrosis syndrome; (3) prevent HIT in the ICU through use of low-molecular-weight heparin; and (4) treat HIT, including awareness of “PTT confounding” when anticoagulating patients with DIC.

 
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