A Case of Vancomycin-Induced Thrombocytopenia

ABSTRACT

Immune thrombocytopenia is a rare complication associated with vancomycin. A 76-year-old male patient who was treated with vancomycin experienced severe thrombocytopenia and refractoriness as a result of platelet transfusion. Vancomycin-dependent antibodies in his thrombocytopenic serum were detected by flow cytometric analysis. The mechanism of thrombocytopenia is probably related to immunological destruction, as strongly suggested by its association with a specific drug-dependent anti-platelet antibody.