Thrombocytopenia complicating treatment with intravenous glycoprotein IIb/IIIa receptor inhibitors: A pooled analysis

Background Despite the increasingly prevalent role of platelet glycoprotein (GP) IIb/IIIa receptor inhibitors in acute coronary syndromes and percutaneous coronary interventions, the incidence and clinical relevance of thrombocytopenia occurring with their use remain unclear. Methods We identified 8 placebo-controlled, randomized, large trials of GP IIb/IIIa receptor inhibitors reporting the incidence of thrombocytopenia, grouped by severity. The clinical courses of 42 patients with GP IIb/IIIa-related thrombocytopenia in these studies and other case reports were reviewed for bleeding complications. Results Abciximab increased mild thrombocytopenia compared with placebo (4.2% vs 2.0%; P