Does hydroxychloroquine cause low platelets?

[Brychni]

Or is it something else?

[PMRpro]

Are you on anything else? However - hydroxychloroquine CAN be associated with low platelets but so can SLE.

[Brychni in reply to PMRpro]

Hi, yes I think I got it wrong: hydroxychloroquine can LOWER platelets (presumably if they're too high or if sticky blood) but it doesn't cause thrombocytopenia. Another thing to add to my list of issues.

[PMRpro in reply to Brychni]

It CAN, rarely

"Hydroxychloroquine is used in the long-term therapy of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Although considered to be a safe treatment, side effects have been documented. An uncommon side effect is thrombocytopenia. In order to establish the diagnosis of thrombocytopenia secondary to Hydroxychloroquine, non-pharmacological causes must be ruled out and it is necessary to determine a recurrence after re-exposure to the drug. We present one case of severe thrombocytopenia occurring in a patient with SLE undergoing treatment with Hydroxychloroquine."

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/272....

[Brychni in reply to PMRpro]

I saw that one too! I take the lowest dose and have only been on it for three years. Thankfully I have never had any side effects. Although I think the magic may be wearing off a bit and I feel that I may need to consider an additional DMARD.