1986 Volume 27 Issue 3 Pages 403-406
A 34-year-old man, who suffered from a chest discomfort and was admitted on the first consultation day, was diagnosed as a benign gastric ulcer through an endoscopic examination. Soon, he was treated with cimetidine (800mg/day, p.o.). During this medication, platelet counts in his peripheral blood decreased abruptly from 12×104/μl to 3.7×104/μl. His myelogram revealed an ITP pattern (increased immature megakaryocytes and poor production of plastelets in spite of normal erythropoiesis and granulopoiesis). Then, no signs of a viral infection and an autoimmune disease were noticed despite of extensive examinations. 8 weeks after an interruption of cimetidine, his platelet counts increased to 11.2×104/μl. In a coculture experiment with cimetidine, his peripheral lymphocytes incorporated 3H-thymidine significantly, in contrast to a healthy person.
