Heparin-Induced Thrombocytopenia Score Card Study
Heparin-Induced Thrombocytopenia Score Card Study
Main Research Question:

 Can two new types of test, one called the 4T's score and the other called a rapid assay, help
 doctors correctly identify which patients are unlikely to have heparin-induced
 thrombocytopenia (HIT)?

 HIT is a severe allergic reaction to the blood thinner heparin. This allergic reaction can
 lead to heart attacks, strokes, limb amputations, and death. Because heparin is one of the
 most commonly used drugs in the hospital setting, it is very important that the investigators
 are able to correctly identify who can safely continue to take heparin and who cannot.

 It can be very difficult to diagnose HIT because it can look like many other medical
 conditions and the best laboratory tests for HIT are difficult to run and only available at
 specialized centres.

 It would be very helpful if doctors had tests they could use that would tell them quickly and
 accurately which patients with symptoms that look like HIT really do have HIT (and require
 urgent treatment with another type of blood thinner) and which patients are very unlikely to
 have HIT (and could continue to take heparin safely). In this study, the investigators will
 compare the 4T's score (a scoring system that assigns "points" to the presence or absence of
 specific clinical features) and a rapid laboratory test with the old laboratory test to find
 out if one or both of these types of tests are useful for telling doctors which patients have
 HIT and which patients don't have HIT.
Inclusion Criteria:

 -  Suspected heparin-induced thrombocytopenia

 Exclusion Criteria:

 -  Unable to give consent

 -  Unable to provide a blood sample

 -  Previous entered in study