Effects of critical illness and organ failure on therapeutic argatroban dosage requirements in patients with suspected or confirmed heparin-induced thrombocytopenia.

Background: Critically ill patients often require therapeutic argatroban dosages lower than those recommended in package labeling. The magnitude of dosage alteration in relation to severity of organ failure is unknown.

Objective: To compare therapeutic argatroban dosages between critically ill and noncritically ill patients with confirmed or suspected heparin-induced thrombocytopenia and investigate the relationship between total Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score and therapeutic argatroban dosage.