Internal Medicine

Answer 3 Venous thrombosis. Deep venous thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, venous limb gangrene, and adrenal hemorrhage are examples of potential complications due to the venous thrombotic state in HIT. Complications from arterial thrombosis include limb ischemia, stroke, and myocardial infarction. However, in one study, pulmonary embolism was observed more frequently than all arterial thrombotic events combined.1 Thrombocytopenia is the most common clinical manifestation of HIT, but it is rarely severe, and spontaneous bleeding is unusual. Heparin-induced skin lesions and acute systemic reactions are less common complications of HIT. REFERENCE 1. Warkentin TE. Heparin-induced thrombocytopenia: a ten-year retrospective. Annu Rev Med 1999;50:129–47. Click here to return to the questions

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