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Abstract

Drug-induced thrombocytopenia is a phenomenon that causes significant morbidity and mortality among patients. Practitioners should be able to recognize the clinical manifestations of drug-induced thrombocytopenia, differentiate it from other causes, and manage it appropriately. Numerous case reports have documented drug-induced causes of thrombocytopenia. The following article focuses on the characteristics and management of drug-induced thrombocytopenia secondary to medications commonly encountered in the coronary care unit. Pharmacotherapeutic agents that are most commonly implicated in this setting include ticlopidine, unfractioned heparin, glycoprotein (GP)IIb/IIIa inhibitors, H(2)-receptor antagonists, quinidine and antibiotics. Case reports were obtained through a comprehensive search of the Medicine database and subsequently complemented by bibliographic reviews of the agents just specified. Reports that exhibited possible, probable, and definite associations with drug-induced thrombocytopenia are included in the article.

Comparative evaluation of thrombocytopenia in adult patients receiving linezolid or glycopeptides in a respiratory intensive care unit

“…Thrombocytopenia is strongly associated with poor outcome, illness severity, the development of organ failure, the length of hospital stay and mortality (5,7,10,12). A common cause of acquired thrombocytopenia is the use of drugs, including heparin, glycoprotein and antibiotics, in the ICU (13). Linezolid, the first oxazolidinone antibiotic agent, has demonstrated antibacterial activity against gram-positive bacteria, including MRSA and vancomycin-resistant enterococci.…”