UMEM Educational Pearls

Title: Drug Induced Thrombocytopenia in the Critically Ill

Posted: 7/27/2010 by Mike Winters, MBA, MD (Updated: 11/25/2024)
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Drug-Induced Thrombocytopenia

Thrombocytopenia is common in critically ill patients and is associated with increased mortality.
Up to 25% of critically ill patients will develop thrombocytopenia as a result of a medication, termed drug-induced thrombocytopenia (DIT)
Antibiotcs are a common, yet infrequently recognized, cause of DIT.
Antibiotics reported to cause DIT include linezolid, vancomycin, trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole, and the beta-lactams.
In fact, piperacillin/tazobactam has been associated with DIT more frequently than any other penicillin.

Priziola JL, Smythe MA, Dager WE. Drug-induced thrombocytopenia in critically ill patients. Crit Care Med 2010; 38(S):S145-54.