Drug-induced immune thrombocytopenia associated with use of tyrosine kinase inhibitor imatinib

Since their introduction in the late 1990s, tyrosine kinase Inhibitors (TKIs) have been widely used for the treatment of various cancers. The side effects of the TKI imatinib are well-documented in the literature and include fatigue, skin rash, myelosuppression, and derangement of liver enzymes. Rare side effects have been observed in the postmarketing surveillance and include cardiac tamponade and Steven Johnson Syndrome. In the present report, we present a rare case of imatinib-associated immune thrombocytopenia leading to severe intra-abdominal bleeding. A brief account of similar cases of TKI drug-induced immune thrombocytopenia (DIT) is also described.