HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Personal Folders Download to citation manager Permission Requests Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Francis, J. L. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Francis, J. L. Related Collections Extracorporeal circulation

Ann Thorac Surg 2006;82:26-27
© 2006 The Society of Thoracic Surgeons

---

Original article: Cardiovascular

Invited commentary

Center for Hemostasis and Thrombosis, Florida Hospital Center for Hemostasis and Thrombosis, 2501 N Orange Ave, Suite 786, Orlando, FL 32804

(Email: john.francis@flhosp.org).

The first 20% of the full text of this article appears below.

In their article, Wan and colleagues [1] make some important observations on the clinical presentation and temporal relationships of heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT) after cardiotomy. Conventional teaching dictates that HIT occurs within a 5-day to 14-day window after heparin exposure. Importantly, however, this does not allow for pre-sensitization of patients by prior heparin use; an issue that is remarkably common in a cardiovascular surgery population. Thus, the peak occurrence of HIT in Wan and colleagues' study was relatively early, with two thirds of the patients having the complication . . . [Full Text of this Article]