A Case of Abciximab Induced Acute Profound Thrombocytopenia Resulting in Compartment Syndrome of the Forearm from Massive Bleeding at the Brachial Artery Access Site

Abciximab is one of the glycoprotein IIb/IIIa receptor inhibitors, and it is known to be effective for preventing and treating the thrombotic complications of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). On the other hand, there is an increasing risk of hemorrhagic complications when using abciximab, especially in the case of abciximab-induced thrombocytopenia. Acute profound thrombocytopenia is a rare, but life threatening adverse reaction to abciximab, and it can even occur within a few hours of the first exposure. We report here on a case of 56 yearold woman who experienced massive bleeding of her brachial artery access site. This was caused by abciximab-induced acute profound thrombocytopenia after performing PCI concomitant with using abciximab. (Korean Circ J 2007;37:594-598)