Acute Profound Thrombocytopenia Associated with Eptifibatide Therapy

An 80‐year‐old woman and a 79‐year‐old man underwent urgent percutaneous coronary intervention and received adjunctive eptifibatide. Platelet counts in both patients fell to below 20 times 103/mm3 within 4 hours of eptifibatide administration. Reports in the medical literature reinforce the importance of recognizing that eptifibatide can cause acute profound thrombocytopenia. All three available glycoprotein IIb‐IIIa inhibitors—abciximab, eptifibatide, and tirofiban—have been associated with the development of this disorder. Thus, clinicians should routinely monitor platelet counts in patients receiving glycoprotein IIb‐IIIa inhibitors within 2–4 hours of the start of the infusion.

Acute Profound Thrombocytopenia Associated with Eptifibatide Therapy Journal Articles