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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Thromb Haemost 2021; 121(12): 1696-1698
DOI: 10.1055/a-1681-7286
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Vaccine-Induced Thrombotic Thrombocytopenia: Insights from Blood Smear

Silke Zimmermann  ‡   *
1   Institute for Laboratory Medicine, Clinical Chemistry and Molecular Diagnostics, University Hospital Leipzig, Leipzig University, Germany
,
Martin Federbusch‡   *
1   Institute for Laboratory Medicine, Clinical Chemistry and Molecular Diagnostics, University Hospital Leipzig, Leipzig University, Germany
,
Berend Isermann
1   Institute for Laboratory Medicine, Clinical Chemistry and Molecular Diagnostics, University Hospital Leipzig, Leipzig University, Germany
,
Shrey Kohli
1   Institute for Laboratory Medicine, Clinical Chemistry and Molecular Diagnostics, University Hospital Leipzig, Leipzig University, Germany
› Author Affiliations Funding This work was supported by the funds from the DFG project number KO 5736/1–1 to S.K. and IS 67/11–1 and SFB854/B26 to B.I. and the funds from the Stiftung für Pathobiochemie und Molekulare Diagnostik to S.Z.
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Vaccine-induced thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT) is a thrombotic complication mimicking heparin-induced thrombocytopenia. This very rare but severe thrombotic complication occurs postvaccination against SARS-Cov-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2). Diagnosis of VITT remains challenging, but a current consensus report suggests a 10-point guideline for early detection of VITT, which should be confirmed by platelet factor-4 (PF-4) immunoassays. The latter is considered to be the most reliable diagnostic test. We observed platelet aggregates and increased platelet volume in patients with VITT in routine blood smear analyses. These routine blood analytic findings may—together with the clinical presentation—support and speed up the diagnosis of VITT, and may be of particular importance in low-income countries with limited access to PF-4 immunoassays.

* These authors contributed equally to this work.




Publication History

Received: 11 August 2021

Accepted: 23 September 2021

Accepted Manuscript online:
28 October 2021

Article published online:
30 November 2021

© 2021. The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

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