ISSN: 2161-0495
+44 1478 350008
Department of Pharmacy, Memorial Hermann, Texas Medical Center, Houston, TX, United States
Case Report
Suspected Vancomycin-Induced Thrombocytopenia in a Patient with Intracranial Hemorrhage
Author(s): Hannah Y Chan*, Teresa A Allison, Miguel A Escobar and R Bertani
Vancomycin-induced thrombocytopenia is a rare adverse reaction that has been reported in only a select few
amounts of medical literature. We describe a case of a critically-ill patient with suspected vancomycin-induced
thrombocytopenia who experienced severe thrombocytopenia seven days after discontinuation of vancomycin in the
setting of an intracranial hemorrhage. A 48-year old man was admitted to the hospital after complaints of weakness
and aphasia, found to have a large basal ganglia hemorrhage. During his hospital course, vancomycin therapy was
initiated for suspected infection. On day 7 of empiric treatment, the patient developed thrombocytopenia with a nadir
value of 4,000/mm3 with symptoms of active bleeding. It is suspected that vancomycin-induced thrombocytopenia
may be derived from an immunological-mediated process. As vancomycin is a common.. View More»