American Society of Hirudotherapy

A Case of COVID-19 Vaccine-Induced Thrombotic Thrombocytopenia

Research article published in Cureus (2022)

Last Updated: June 18, 2026Reviewed by: ASH Editorial Board
Research article — evidence reviewArticle reference
Evidence: Case reportClinical TrialsHarrison et al. · Cureus, 2022

Abstract

This report discusses a case of a 37-year-old female who developed vaccine-induced thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT) after receiving the Johnson and Johnson COVID-19 vaccination. The patient first presented to the ED with complaints of a worsening headache. Labs were significant for thrombocytopenia with a platelet count of 22,000, and the patient was admitted to the inpatient unit for monitoring. The day after admission, the patient was found to have a right common femoral artery embolus, left distal popliteal trifurcation embolism, a small pulmonary embolism in the right lower lobe, and a mural thrombus of the infrarenal abdominal aorta. Following these findings, the patient underwent emergent thrombectomy of the common and superficial femoral arteries. Over the hospital course of six days, the patient received steroids and IV immunoglobulin (IVIG), which led to the resolution of the thrombocytopenia. The patient was given argatroban followed by apixaban for anticoagulation. She was instructed to follow up with hematology within one to two weeks post-discharge for monitoring of anticoagulation and thrombus surveillance. This case report outlines the clinical course, diagnosis, and treatment of a case of VITT, which will assist physicians in early recognition and adequate treatment of this condition as the COVID-19 pandemic continues.

Abstract sourced from PubMed (NCBI) for the cited record. See the original publication for the authoritative version.

Publication typeCase ReportsJournal Article

Summary

Peer-reviewed clinical and outcomes research relevant to anticoagulation, leech therapy, and microsurgical flap management. Indexed in PubMed and verified against the NCBI record.

Why This Matters for Hirudotherapy

This case report details vaccine-induced thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT) in a 37-year-old woman after a Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccination, presenting with severe thrombocytopenia and multiple arterial and venous thromboses managed with thrombectomy, steroids, IVIG, and the non-heparin anticoagulants argatroban then apixaban. Its bearing on hirudotherapy is indirect: VITT, like HIT, is a PF4-antibody-driven prothrombotic syndrome in which heparin is generally avoided, reinforcing the rationale for heparin-independent direct thrombin inhibitors, a drug class to which the leech-derived hirudin belongs. Caveat: this is a single case from the early pandemic about a vaccine complication; it involves no medicinal-leech therapy and provides no direct evidence for or against hirudotherapy.

Citation

A Case of COVID-19 Vaccine-Induced Thrombotic Thrombocytopenia.

Harrison et al. · Cureus, 2022

Added to ASH library: May 28, 2026 · Site last updated: June 18, 2026

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