Clinical analysis of heparin induced thrombocytopenia after liver transplantation in children

Objective To analyze the clinical features and the impact of heparin induced thrombocytopenia (HIT) after liver transplantation in children. Methods The clinical data of 64 patients who underwent liver transplantation from June 2006 to March 2015 in the Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University were retrospectively analyzed. The aims were to investigate the risks of HIT, and its impact on prognosis of liver transplantation. Results 64 patients were enrolled in this study. Five patients (5/41, 12.1%) progressed to develop HIT postoperatively in the unfractionated heparin (UFH) group. This group included 2 patients who were aged under 3 years (2/33, 6.1%) and 3 patients who were aged over 3 years (3/8, 37.5%). No patient progressed to develop HIT in the low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) group. For the perioperative mortality, 3 patients (3/5, 60%) died in the HIT group including 2 patients had hepatic artery thrombosis. Six patients (8/59, 13.6%) died in the Non-HIT group. Conclusions HIT was one of the death causes after liver transplantation in children. Children aged over 3 years had a higher incidence of HIT. Key words: Children; Liver transplantation; Heparin; Thrombocytopenia