title: Catastrophic complication following heparin therapy.
abstract: Heparin-induced thrombocytopenia is a rare but serious and life-threatening complication of heparin use. We describe the case of a 7-year-old girl with tetralogy of Fallot with pulmonary atresia, who developed multiple thrombotic complications following intracardiac repair, requiring below elbow amputation of the left forearm and right forefoot. Our case illustrates the need for greater awareness of heparin-induced thrombocytopenia, to prevent the significant morbidity associated with it.
authors.affiliation: Kamineni Hospitals, King Koti, Hyderabad, India nrpantula@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Narasinga Rao
authors.initials: NR
authors.lastname: Pantula
authors.affiliation: Osmania General Hospital, Afzal Gunj, Hyderabad, India.
authors.forename: Kartik
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Vedula
mesh_terms: D000671:Amputation, Surgical; D000925:Anticoagulants / Q000009:adverse effects*; D001132:Arm / Q000601:surgery; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006493:Heparin / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006801:Humans; D018633:Pulmonary Atresia / Q000150:complications / Q000601:surgery*; D013771:Tetralogy of Fallot / Q000150:complications / Q000601:surgery*; D013921:Thrombocytopenia / Q000139:chemically induced*; D013927:Thrombosis / Q000139:chemically induced*
chemical_list: D000925:Anticoagulants; D006493:Heparin
keywords: HIT; gangrene; heparin; thrombocytopenia; thrombosis