ABSTRACT
I. INTRODUCTION A. The Concept of Pseudo-Heparin-Induced Thrombocytopenia Heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT) is strongly associated with life-and limb-threatening venous and arterial thrombosis, including pulmonary embolism, venous limb gangrene, and large vessel arterial occlusion. However, HIT is by no means a unique explanation for the combination of thrombocytopenia and thrombosis (Table 1). In these pseudo-HIT disorders-so named because they strongly mimic HIT on clinical grounds-thrombocytopenia usually occurs early during the course of heparin treatment. This could reflect the prothrombotic process associated with the patient’s primary diagnosis. Alternatively, heparin could exacerbate the platelet count fall by nonimmune proaggregatory effects on platelets (see Chapter 4). If the patient previously received heparin, physicians might consider HIT in the differential diagnosis of the platelet count fall.
