Platelet count

• excessive bleeding
• fainting or feeling light-headed
• hematoma (blood accumulating under the skin)
• infection (a slight risk any time the skin is broken)
• multiple punctures to locate veins

Drugs that can lower platelet counts include chemotherapy drugs, chloramphenicol, colchicine, H2 blocking agents, heparin, hydralazine, indomethacin, isoniazid, quinidine, streptomycin, sulfonamide, thiazide diuretic, and tolbutamide.

Veins and arteries vary in size from one patient to another and from one side of the body to the other. Obtaining a blood sample from some people may be more difficult than from others.

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