Anti-Heparin Platelet Factor 4 (PF4) Antibodies: A Potentially Catastrophic Occurrence

Unless otherwise noted, P.A.C.E.™ accreditation will expire six months after the live webinar.

As many as five percent of patients treated with heparin form an immune complex between heparin and platelet factor 4 (PF4) and develop heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT). This condition is characterized by a low platelet count that can cause excessive bleeding or clotting and is associated with a 30% risk of death and 20% risk of limb amputation.

Current HIT testing can take from several hours to several days, so patients who require surgery must wait for test results or are given expensive direct thrombin inhibitors (DTIs) as a precautionary measure. 

In this complimentary, P.A.C.E.-accredited webinar, Michael Warhol, MD, will describe the mechanism of interaction between heparin and platelet factor 4, review the chemistry of heparin, and identify the consequences of antibodies to heparin platelet factor 4. He will also examine the testing methodology for the anti-platelet factor 4 heparin antibody.   

Learning Objectives

This webinar will help you:

• Describe the mechanism of interaction between heparin and platelet factor 4
• Review the chemistry of heparin
• Identify the consequences of antibodies to the heparin platelet factor 4
• Examine the testing methodology for the anti-platelet factor 4 heparin antibody

Watch On Demand      Download Slides

This webinar is produced by Whitehat Communications, a provider of continuing education programs in clinical laboratory sciences that has been approved by the ASCLS P.A.C.E. Program. One P.A.C.E. credit hour will be provided for this complimentary, basic-level program.

Michael Warhol, MD

Dr. Warhol is a clinical pathologist who has served as Chairman and Director of Laboratories at Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia, PA and New York Hospital Queens, in New York City.  Additionally, he has held faculty appointments at Harvard Medical School, the University of Pennsylvania Medical School and Weil Cornell Medical College.

Dr. Warhol is past President of the Pennsylvania Association of Pathologists and a Fellow of the American College of Pathology. Dr. Warhol has authored more than 70 published, peer-reviewed papers, and served on the instrumentation committee of the American College of Pathology.

Dr. Warhol received his undergraduate degree from Princeton University and his medical degree from the University of Pittsburgh. He continued his residency training in pathology at the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital, Boston, MA.