Flow cytometry in the diagnosis of drug‐induced thrombocytopenia: Two illustrative cases

Abstract

Drug-induced thrombocytopenia is a challenging diagnosis in the clinical practice because of the many drugs or alternative causes that may be implicated. Exact identification of such drug(s) is required to guide future management and avoid re-exposure. We describe two cases of isolated thrombocytopenia in which cytometric analysis, a readily available technique, allowed the identification of the causative drug in the context of complex therapies (rifampicin and abciximab causing late onset thrombocytopenia). Am. J. Hematol. 83:326-329, 2008. V

A Rare Case of Tamoxifen-Induced Thrombocytopenia

“…There are reports stating that tamoxifen use is also associated with reduced platelet function due to reduced peroxynitrite and increased platelet nitric oxide, there by resulting in an increase in the bleeding time (Scognamiglio et al, 2007). So, tamoxifen therapy can affect both the quality and the quantity of platelets in susceptible individuals (Nayak and Schmaier, 2012).…”