COVID-19 and Blood Clots: A Report of Massive Pulmonary Embolism in COVID-19 Patient Supported on Veno-Venous ECMO and the Utility of Thrombolysis

Bindu Akkanti, Joseph Zwischenberger, Mark T. Warner, Kha Dinh, Rahat Hussain, Farah Kazzaz, Pascal Kingah, Lisa M. Janowiak, Biswajit Kar, Igor D. Gregoric

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

COVID-19 morbidity and mortality are not equivalent to other etiologies of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) as fulminant activation of coagulation can occur, thereby resulting in widespread microvascular thrombosis and consumption of coagulation factors. A 53-year-old female presented to an emergency center on two occasions with progressive gastrointestinal and respiratory symptoms. She was diagnosed with COVID-19 pneumonia and admitted to a satellite intensive care unit with hypoxemic respiratory failure. She was intubated and mechanically ventilated, but her ARDS progressed over the next 48 hours. The patient was emergently cannulated for veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (V-V ECMO) and transferred to our hospital. She was in profound shock requiring multiple vasopressors for hemodynamic support with worsening clinical status on arrival. On bedside echocardiography, she was found to have a massive pulmonary embolism with clot-in-transit visualized in the right atrium and right ventricular outflow tract. After a multidisciplinary discussion, systemic thrombolytic therapy was administered. The patient s hemodynamics improved and vasopressors were discontinued. This case illustrates the utility of bedside echocardiography in shock determination, the need for continued vigilance in the systematic evaluation of unstable patients in the intensive care unit, and the use of systemic thrombolytics during V-V ECMO in a novel disease process with evolving understanding.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)235-238
Number of pages4
JournalJournal of Extra-Corporeal Technology
Volume54
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 1 2022

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 American Society of Extra-Corporeal Technology. All rights reserved.

Keywords

  • Blood clot.
  • COVID-19
  • ECMO
  • Pulmonary embolism
  • Thrombolysis

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine
  • Health Professions (miscellaneous)
  • Medicine (miscellaneous)

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