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Quinidine-Induced Immune Thrombocytopenia, Mansoor Saleh, Nadhav Dhodaphar, Karren Allen, Albert Lobuglio

Haematology and Oncology, East Africa

D rugs may cause thrombocytopenia by three principal mechanisms: suppression of platelet production, direct platelet toxicity, or antibody-mediated platelet destmction (1). With the advent of assays specifically capable of detecting and quantifying IgG on the platelet surface (2), it has become increasingly possible to recognize cases of drug-induced immune thrombocytopenia based on the detection of elevated levels of platelet surface bound IgG in association with ingestion of causative dmgs. Consequendy, dmg-induced immune thrombocytopenia is no longer a disease diagnosed primarily by exclusion. The occurrence of quinidine-induced thrombocytopenia, though uncommon, was documented as early as 1965 (3) and has been thought …