Management of uremic patients with heparin-induced thrombocytopenia requiring hemodialysis.

Medical records of 122 patients with suspected heparin-induced thrombocytopenia on dialysis were reviewed. Method of dialysis in heparin-induced thrombocytopenia patients with bleeding from various causes (including surgical interventions) and how to cope with blood access occlusion induced by heparin-induced thrombocytopenia were studied. Of 122 patients, 17 who met the criteria of >30% thrombocytopenia, clots in the extracorporeal circulation, positive for heparin/PF4 complex antibodies, and improvement from heparin-induced thrombocytopenia with the use of an alternative anticoagulant or another strategy for heparin-induced thrombocytopenia were chosen. Argatroban was uneventfully introduced in 12 patients having neither bleeding nor blood access failure. In all, 2 of 5 patients were treated with peritoneal dialysis. The others requiring a regional anticoagulant were given nafamostat mesilate. Argatroban as an alternative provides effectively anticoagulation in patients with heparin-induced thrombocytopenia on dialysis. In patients with heparin-induced thrombocytopenia with bleeding and its associated risk, nafamostat mesilate was an alternative. Peritoneal dialysis also was applied in cases of blood access failure due to heparin-induced thrombocytopenia.