Persisting autoimmune heparin-induced thrombocytopenia after elective abdominal aortic aneurysm repair: a case report.

Persisting heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT) is characterized by ongoing thrombocytopenia more than 7 days after stopping heparin. It is part of cases referred to as autoimmune HIT (aHIT). In contrast to typical HIT cases, aHIT involves heparin-independent platelet activation mechanism highlighted by a strongly positive functional assay done without heparin. We report the first case of persisting HIT after an elective abdominal aortic aneurysm repair presenting with arterial and venous thrombosis, and describe the potential role of intravenous immunoglobulin in such patients.