Topic Teaching: Intravenous Gammaglobulin (IVIG) for Treatment and Prevention of HIT

Speaker:

Dr. Theodore (Ted) Warkentin, MD, BSc(Med), FRCPC, FACP, FRCP (Edin)
Professor, Pathology and Molecular Medicine
McMaster University 

Objectives:

1. Review pathophysiology of HIT (including rationale for treatment with IVIG). 
2. Discuss evidence for IVIG as treatment of HIT, especially "autoimmune HIT".
3. Describe evidence for prevention of HIT by IVIG in situations of urgent need for heparin reexposure. 

References:

1. Tvito A, Bakchoul T, et al. Severe and persistent heparin-induced thrombocytopenia despite fondaparinux treatment. Am J Hematol 2015; 90 (7): 675-678.
2. Warkentin TE, Climans TH, Morin PA. Intravenous immune globulin to prevent heparin-induced thrombocytopenia. N Engl J Med 2018 May 10; 378 (19): 1845-1848. 

Note: The session is a self-approved group learning activity (Section 1) as defined by the Maintenance of Certification program of The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. 

To register for the LearnTransfusion series, send an email to learn.transfusion@blood.ca with  “Weekly Transfusion Medicine Seminars” in the subject line. Include your name and complete e-mail address in the body of the e-mail, and confirm that you’d like to register for the LearnTransfusion series. You will then receive weekly email notifications of upcoming series events with details on how to join the webinars (e.g., call-in number and a link to register for the webinar).

The LearnTransfusion series is the seminar component of the Areas of Focused Competency (AFC)-Diploma Program in Transfusion Medicine. The series, organized by Canadian Blood Services is also open to all practitioners in the field of Transfusion Medicine. Through a series of regular webinars, trainees and practitioners are exposed to various scientific, technical and clinical aspects of transfusion medicine.