Blood & Cancer

At least 17 cases of thrombosis and thrombocytopenia have been reported in patients who received the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine in the United States. Such events have been reported in patients who received the AstraZeneca vaccine as well. In this episode, Adam C. Cuker, MD, of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, tells host David H. Henry, MD, how to identify and manage patients with these vaccine-induced events. What’s in a name? The phenomenon of vaccine-induced thrombosis and thrombocytopenia has been given different names, including: Vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT) Vaccine-induced prothrombotic immune thrombocytopenia (VIPIT) Thrombosis and thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS). Dr. Cuker’s preferred acronym is VITT. VITT is an immune-mediated reaction to the Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca vaccines that “results in thrombocytopenia and a strong propensity for thrombosis,” Dr. Cuker explained. Dr. Henry noted that VITT is reminiscent of heparin-induced