Acquired platelet defect associated with gabapentin treatment: a case-report

Abstract

Gabapentin, a structural analog of gamma-aminobutyric acid, is used to treat peripheral neuropathic pain. Here we report the first case of platelet function disorder associated with gabapentin treatment in a 44-year-old woman without a history of bleeding. She presented with mucocutaneous bleeding approximately 1 month after initiation of gabapentin and platelet function tests showed no aggregation to arachidonic acid and epinephrine, a defective response to ADP and a slightly decreased response to collagen. Gabapentin’s imputability was supported by the fact that all platelet functions were normalized 6 days after drug discontinuation, with the simultaneous disappearance of bleedings.

Keywords:

• Bleeding
• gabapentin
• platelet defect

Acknowledgements

We thank Dr Annie-Pierre Jonville-Béra, from the Regional Pharmacovigilance Centre of Centre Val de Loire, for her valuable contribution in investigating the imputability of gabapentin in this acquired thrombopathy.

Disclosure Of Interest

All authors declare there is no competing financial interest.

Authors Contribution

Tatiana Baglo and Caroline Vayne analyzed the data and wrote the paper. Jean-Baptiste Valentin provided patient care and collected the clinical data. Eve Anne Guery performed platelet function testing and analyzed the data. Yves Gruel and Claire Pouplard analyzed the data and edited the manuscript. All authors approved the submitted version of the manuscript.