Vancomycin Induced Thrombocytopenia Complicating Permanent Pacemaker Placement: A Case Report

Chukwuemeka A. Umeh^1, , Sabina Kumar¹, John Carvalho¹, Christina Arcuri¹, Hycienth Ahaneku², Krishna Pulumati³, Shivang Shah³, Austin Ma⁴ and Rakesh Gupta⁵

¹Internal Medicine Department, Hemet Valley Medical Center, Hemet, California, USA

²Hematology and Oncology Department, Beaumont Health Hospital Royal Oak, Michigan USA

³Cardiology Department, Hemet Valley Medical Center, Hemet, California, USA

⁴Hematology and Oncology Department, Hemet Valley Medical Center, Hemet, California, USA

⁵Pulmonology and Critical Care Department, Hemet Valley Medical Center, Hemet, California, USA

Cite this paper

Chukwuemeka A. Umeh, Sabina Kumar, John Carvalho, Christina Arcuri, Hycienth Ahaneku, Krishna Pulumati, Shivang Shah, Austin Ma and Rakesh Gupta. Vancomycin Induced Thrombocytopenia Complicating Permanent Pacemaker Placement: A Case Report. American Journal of Medical Case Reports. 2021; 9(7):360-362. doi: 10.12691/AJMCR-9-7-5

Abstract

Introduction: Vancomycin is widely used in patients with methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections or with other infections unresponsive to other antibiotics. Vancomycin-related adverse effects, including nephrotoxicity, ototoxicity, red-man syndrome, and neutropenia have been reported. Vancomycin induced thrombocytopenia is a rare complication of vancomycin that many physicians are unaware of. When an acute decline in platelet count or bleeding occur in patients on vancomycin, vancomycin- induced thrombocytopenia should be considered. Case: We present a case of acute severe thrombocytopenia that occurred within 12 hours after vancomycin infusion in a patient that received permanent pacemaker placement. Vancomycin was discontinued and patient’s platelets returned to baseline five days after vancomycin was discontinued. Conclusion: This case report highlights the importance of physicians being aware of vancomycin induced thrombocytopenia, a rare but reversible complication of vancomycin, which if diagnosed early will lead to early discontinuation of vancomycin, early resolution of thrombocytopenia and reduced hospital stay.

Keywords

vancomycin, thrombocytopenia, case report

Copyright

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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