HISTORY AND CLINICAL FINDINGS: In a 66-year-old woman with unstable angina, treated with 20,000 IU heparin daily for 6 days, platelet count fell dramatically from 310,000 to 1000/microliters 8 hours after injection of 90 ml of contrast medium (Iopromide) during coronary angiography. In addition to a marked tendency towards spontaneous bleeding she developed a large haematoma at the site of the arterial puncture, with a fall in haemoglobin to 9 g/dl, and acute renal failure. TREATMENT AND COURSE: Red blood cell and platelet infusions were given, together with cortisone, 1000 mg, and immunoglobulins. Platelet count returned to within normal limits after 8 days. Two haemodialyses initiated polyuria, followed by rapid normalization of kidney function. No antibodies against iopromide, iopamidol, heparin or heparinoids were found. At an emergency coronary balloon angioplasty 3 weeks later iopamidol was injected (45 ml). Again there was a profound fall in platelets to 1000/microliters, associated with acute renal failure. Treatment identical to that after the first episode brought about complete normalization. CONCLUSION: The reported reactions were most likely due to immune thrombocytopenia after administration of contrast medium.
HISTORY AND CLINICAL FINDINGS: In a 66-year-old woman with unstable angina, treated with 20,000 IU heparin daily for 6 days, platelet count fell dramatically from 310,000 to 1000/microliters 8 hours after injection of 90 ml of contrast medium (Iopromide) during coronary angiography. In addition to a marked tendency towards spontaneous bleeding she developed a large haematoma at the site of the arterial puncture, with a fall in haemoglobin to 9 g/dl, and acute renal failure. TREATMENT AND COURSE: Red blood cell and platelet infusions were given, together with cortisone, 1000 mg, and immunoglobulins. Platelet count returned to within normal limits after 8 days. Two haemodialyses initiated polyuria, followed by rapid normalization of kidney function. No antibodies against iopromide, iopamidol, heparin or heparinoids were found. At an emergency coronary balloon angioplasty 3 weeks later iopamidol was injected (45 ml). Again there was a profound fall in platelets to 1000/microliters, associated with acute renal failure. Treatment identical to that after the first episode brought about complete normalization. CONCLUSION: The reported reactions were most likely due to immune thrombocytopenia after administration of contrast medium.
Authors: Pal Bata; Adam Domonkos Tarnoki; David Laszlo Tarnoki; Evelin Horvath; Viktor Berczi; Ferenc Szalay Journal: Korean J Radiol Date: 2012-06-18 Impact factor: 3.500