Thrombocytopenia is a well-known complication of liver cirrhosis. Although the pathogenesis of thrombocytopenia is not well understood, splenic congestion resulting from portal hypertension is considered the most significant underlying mechanism. Therapeutic measures that lower portal hypertension, such as transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS), are expected to improve thrombocyto...

A family is described in which three male members died in early infancy with severe thrombocytopenia and a fourth in adolescence with aplastic anaemia. One child was investigated in detail and shown to have amegakaryocytic thrombocytopenia, progressing to pancytopenia as a result of bone marrow hypoplasia. His associated congenital abnormalities differed from those described in Fanconi's aplast...

Immunization against the human platelet antigen (HPA)-1 alloantigen is the most common cause of severe fetal and neonatal thrombocytopenia. Fetal therapy has substantial risks and its indications need better definition. Of 24,417 consecutive pregnant women, 618 (2.5%) were HPA-1a negative of whom 385 entered an observational study. All were HLA-DRB3*0101 genotyped and screened for anti-HPA-1a. ...

Hereditary thrombocytopenias are rare bleeding disorders, which cause a deficiency of platelets in early infancy. This group of disorders is sometimes associated with abnormal phenotypes, like absence of radius. Diagnosis of this type of thrombocytopenia is usually difficult; other causes of thrombocytopenia, such as immune disorders and infections, must be ruled out. The symptoms of hereditary...

Vancomycin-induced thrombocytopenia is a rare adverse reaction that may be overlooked because no specific diagnostic test is currently available. We herein report a patient with vancomycin-induced immune thrombocytopenia who was diagnosed by the detection of vancomycin-dependent anti-platelet antibody with flow cytometry. An IgG antibody in the patient's serum reacted with platelets only in the...

CRITICALCARENURSE Vol 26, No. 3, JUNE 2006 19 2. Paradiso-Hardy FL, Madan M, Radhakrishnan S, Hurden S, Cohen EA. Severe thrombocytopenia possibly related to readministration of eptifibatide. Catheter Cardiovasc Interv. September 2001;54:63-67. 3. Hongo RH, Brent BN. Association of eptifibatide and acute profound thrombocytopenia. Am J Cardiol. 2001;88:428-431. 4. Yoder M, Edwards RF. Reversibl...