A 46-year-old woman presented with drenching night sweats, abdominal pain, myalgia, fatigue, and flu-like symptoms for one-week. The patient was also concerned about unintended weight loss over several months. She is a known case of Splenic Marginal Zone Lymphoma (SMZL) complicated by chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. Also, she had a history of illicit drug use (methamphetamine and marijuana). As per the treatment plan, intravenous treatment with rituximab 375 mg/m2 was initiated with close monitoring.
The next day, the complete blood count demonstrated that her platelet count had dropped from 167,000/microlitre to 7,000/microlitre. However, there were no changes in hemoglobin and white blood cell (WBC) count. What is the most likely cause of acute thrombocytopenia in this patient? Source – American Journal of Case Reports *This Image-based Case Challenge is from the Editorial…
