2019, Number 2
Pseudothrombocytopenia induced by ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA)
Reyes-Peña IM, Ávila-Zambrano JD, Villacrés-Mosquera LF
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Language: Spanish
References: 6
Page: 142-145
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ABSTRACT
This paper describes the clinical case of a 57-year-old female patient who underwent an aneurysm embolization after subarachnoid hemorrhage. She was then admitted to the intensive care unit for recovery. The patient evolved favorably from her initial symptoms, however, 4 days after her admission she presented platelet values of 14,000/mm3, without clinical manifestations of bleeding. Multiple confirmatory tests were performed during 2 days that showed platelet values ‹ 30,000/mm3 repeatedly without evidence of bleeding, so pseudothrombocytopenia was suspected. To confirm this diagnosis, we conversed with the laboratory about the controls performed and the tubes used to obtain the samples. A smear of the sample obtained in a tube with ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) was analyzed with the microscope, in which multiple precipitates of platelets were observed throughout the spread, and pseudothrombocytopenia was diagnosed. A sample was then obtained in a tube with sodium citrate, which presented normal platelet values, and its observation under a microscope was normal. Therefore, the diagnosis of EDTA-induced pseudotrombocitopenia was confirmed.REFERENCES