Heparin, a well-known blood thinner that can cause usually harmless skin lesions, may also lead to a fatal disease.
The Canadian Medical Association Journal reports that researchers examined 320 people who received heparin injections in a German hospital. There were surprised that 7.5% of them had skin lesions. Most were due to allergic reactions or occurred in susceptible women that were pregnant, obese or were long-term heparin users.
They suggest that doctors be more alert and try to understand what causes these injuries. These could be a sign of thrombocytopenia that is induced by the drug. In this case, the number of platelets decreases.