title: Does my patient have a life- or limb-threatening thrombocytopenia?
abstract: The diagnosis and management of severe thrombocytopenias can be difficult, but is necessary to avoid significant morbidity and mortality. The causes of severe thrombocytopenias, often with a platelet count of less than 10 × 10(9)/L, include heparin-induced thrombocytopenia, the thrombotic microangiopathies, the catastrophic antiphospholipid syndrome, preeclampsia/HELLP, and posttransfusion purpura. This review provides a brief overview of the key clinical features of each of these major clinical entities, and strategies for their diagnostic workup and therapeutic management.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Rhode Island and The Miriam Hospitals, Alpert Medical School of Brown University, 593 Eddy Street, Providence, RI 02903, USA. Nathan_Connell@brown.edu
authors.forename: Nathan T
authors.initials: NT
authors.lastname: Connell
authors.forename: Joseph D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Sweeney
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D013921:Thrombocytopenia / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology