We report on four children with heparin‐induced thrombocytopenia type II. In three patients, therapy with unfractionated heparin was associated with development of cardiac thrombi or with thrombosis progression up to the inferior vena cava or with aggravation of peripheral arterial occlusion. In the fourth child, the disease was recognized early on, and no complication occurred. Heparin‐induced thrombocytopenia type II was confirmed by heparin‐induced platelet activation assay and/or heparin/platelet factor 4‐ELISA. Concomitant elevated antiphospholipid antibodies were seen in all patients. Danaparoid sodium applied at a dosage of between 1.2 and 7.1 U/kg/h stopped the disease progression in each patient. Three children had a clinical recovery with partial recanalization, but for the child with peripheral arterial occlusion disease, amputation of some of the toes became necessary.
Conclusion: Our data indicate that heparin‐induced thrombocytopenia type II is a potential life‐ threatening disease in children and danaparoid sodium is beneficial in this age group.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.