Ann Stem Cell Res Ther | Volume 2, Issue 2 | Case Report | Open Access
Islam MS*, Elshazly S and Nagi WA
Department of Hematology, Mid Essex Hospital Trust, UK
*Correspondance to: Serajul Islam
Fulltext PDFThrombocytopenia is a rare side effect of vancomycin, an antibiotic that is widely used to treat Grampositive bacterial infections particularly Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) infection. A 65-year-old male was treated with vancomycin for hospital-acquired pneumonia after an elective abdominal surgery. After only 7 doses of vancomycin, his platelet count dropped to a nadir of 1x 109 /L (baseline: platelet count 284 x 109 /L) manifesting as visible mucosal bleeding, bleeding into colostomy bag and haemodynamic instability due to excessive blood loss. Vancomycin induced thrombocytopenia was diagnosed after exclusion of other causes and laboratory investigations supported the diagnosis. Reversal of the thrombocytopenia was achieved after stopping vancomycin and with intravenous immunoglobulin, methylprednisolone and multiple platelet transfusions. Vancomycin induced thrombocytopenia is an under recognized cause of thrombocytopenia in the hospitalised patients. Clinicians should be cognizant of this entity, and a definitive diagnosis should be sought if feasible by immunological testing and flow cytometry
Vancomycin; Thrombocytopenia; PIFT; MAIPA
Islam MS, Elshazly S, Nagi WA. Vancomycin: A Friend or a Foe- A Case of Life Threatening Thrombocytopenia Induced by Vancomycin. Ann Stem Cell Res Ther. 2018; 2(2): 1011.