Reducing the Risk for Heparin-Induced Thrombocytopenia

Substituting low-molecular-weight heparin for unfractionated heparin significantly reduced the incidence of HIT and HIT with thrombosis.

Heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT) is a serious immunologically mediated complication of heparin therapy and, in its most severe form, is associated with thrombosis. The risk for HIT is approximately 5- to 10-fold lower with low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH) than with unfractionated heparin (UH).

Now, investigators at a tertiary-care hospital in Canada have completed a 10-year, quality-improvement study that examined whether substituting LMWH for UH would reduce the risk for HIT and HIT with thrombosis as well as lower hospital costs.

Results were as follows:

The annual incidence of adjudicated cases of HIT decreased from 10.7 to 2.2 per 10,000 admissions (relative risk reduction, 79%; P<0.001).
The annual incidence of adjudicated cases o…

Reviewing Author

David Green, MD, PhD

Disclosures

EquityNovartis

David Green, MD, PhD

Disclosures

EquityNovartis

Reducing the Risk for Heparin-Induced Thrombocytopenia

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Reviewing Author