Thrombocytopenia Found Uncommonly During Heparin Therapy

In a prospective study to determine the frequency of thrombocytopenia in patients treated with intravenous heparin sodium of porcine gut origin, only four of 120 patients with suspected venous thromboembolism showed a depression of the platelet count to below 150 x 10(9)/L. In two of these patients, heparin was not considered to be the cause of thrombocytopenia because the platelet count, which fell transiently, rose again while heparin therapy …