PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Bartholomew, John R.
AU  - Begelman, Susan M.
AU  - Almahameed, Amjad
TI  - Heparin-induced thrombocytopenia
DP  - 2005 Apr 01
TA  - Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine
PG  - S31--S36
VI  - 72
IP  - 4 suppl 1
4099  - http://www.ccjm.org/content/72/4_suppl_1/S31.short
4100  - http://www.ccjm.org/content/72/4_suppl_1/S31.full
SO  - Cleve Clin J Med2005 Apr 01; 72
AB  - Heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT) is a potentially devastating complication of therapy with either unfractionated or low-molecular-weight heparin. Thrombocytopenia is no longer essential for the diagnosis of HIT, since a 50% drop in the platelet count may be a more specific indicator. Once HIT is clinically suspected, heparin should be stopped immediately and direct thrombin inhibitor therapy started; waiting for laboratory confirmation may be catastrophic.