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A negative test is normal.
Normal value ranges may vary slightly among different laboratories. Talk to your doctor about the meaning of your specific test results.
Abnormal results show that you have antiplatelet antibodies. These are proteins made by your body that attach to platelets and destroy them. This causes a low platelet count, which can lead to excessive bleeding.
Antiplatelet antibodies may appear in the blood for unknown reasons (idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura), or as a side effect of certain drugs such as gold heparin, quinidine, and quinine. These drugs can sometimes cause the immune system to identify its own platelets as abnormal or foreign, and attack them.
The exact interpretation of the results of this test is controversial.
Schmaier AH. Thrombocytopenia due to platelet destruction and hypersplenism. In: Hoffman R, Benz EJ Jr., Shattil SJ, et al, eds. Hoffman Hematology: Basic Principles and Practice. 5th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Churchill Livingstone Elsevier;2008:chap 140.
McMillan R. Hemorrhagic disorders: Abnormalities of platelet and vascular function. In: Goldman L, Ausiello D, eds. Cecil Medicine. 23rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier;2007:chap 179.
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