2000 Volume 14 Issue 7 Pages 850-853
A 72-year-old woman with persistent idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura visited our hospital because of an abnormal shadow on chest computed tomographic scan which showed a ground glass attenuation located in the S3 suggesting well differentiated adenocarcinoma of the lung. Because marked thrombocytopenia (0.9×104/mm3) was found on admission, we did not perform transbronchial lung biopsy or transthoracic needle biopsy for definitive diagnosis to avoid severe bleeding. After platelet counts increased to 8.8×104/mm3 following Preoperative high dose intravenous gammaglobulin therapy (400 mg/kg/day for 5 days), right upper lobectomy could be done with minimal blood loss. There were no postoperative complications such as bleeding. Preoperative high dose intravenous gammaglobulin therapy is useful in the lung cancer patient with idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura to maintain a sufficient platelet count for achieving an uneventful course during the perioperative period.
