A CASE OF PULMONARY VEIN THROMBOSIS WITH EXTENSION INTO THE LEFT ATRIUM

Abstract

SESSION TITLE: Medical Student/Resident Signs and Symptoms of Chest Disease Posters SESSION TYPE: Med Student/Res Case Rep Postr PRESENTED ON: October 18-21, 2020 INTRODUCTION: Pulmonary vein thrombosis (PVT) is a rare and often misdiagnosed condition due to nonspecific symptoms at presentation. PVT is most commonly associated with lung malignancy, recent major pulmonary surgery, or atrial fibrillation. Symptoms generally include cough, dyspnea, nonspecific chest pain, and hemoptysis, similar to pulmonary embolism. Delay in diagnosis can be lethal. CASE PRESENTATION: A 76-year-old female with hyperthyroidism, history of DVT in 2018 previously on rivaroxaban, venous insufficiency and hypertension presented with cough, congestion, and progressive fatigue for 3 days. She was increasingly dyspneic at rest and with activity the day prior to admission. She required supplemental oxygenation with 2 L/minute via nasal cannula on evaluation at our emergency center. She additionally tested positive for influenza A and B. She denied chest pain, palpitations, or orthopnea, but did have associated worsening right lower extremity edema. Bilateral lower extremity venous duplex showed evidence of an acute thrombus in the right common femoral, superficial femoral, deep femoral, and popliteal veins; the left leg had no thromboses. Given evidence of acute DVT and acute hypoxemic respiratory failure on presentation, a CT PE protocol was done, noting a thrombus in the left lower pulmonary vein that extended into the left atrium (figures 1-3), with chronic occlusion of the left lower lobe pulmonary arteries as well as enlarged pulmonary arteries. She was initially treated with a heparin drip from 1/23/2020 to 1/27/2020, then she was transitioned to oral anticoagulation with rivaroxaban 20 mg PO daily. She maintained resting oxygen saturations on room air for three days prior to discharge on 1/28/2020 and her respiratory symptoms improved significantly. She had no evidence of underlying malignancy at the time. She has followed up twice with her primary care physician, remains on oral anticoagulation, and has had no respiratory complaints since discharge. Pending outpatient hypercoagulable workup and repeat chest imaging, which was recommended in 6 months. DISCUSSION: PVT is a rare yet life threatening condition if undiagnosed. It can lead to pulmonary hypertension, cor pulmonale, TIA or stroke, and even pulmonary infarction or gangrene. Though there is no present gold standard for diagnosis of PVT, CT pulmonary angiography led to the diagnosis in this case. CONCLUSIONS: Chronic anticoagulation is the mainstay of therapy for PVT. Though some cases may be idiopathic, it is prudent to investigate further for hypercoagulable states, including malignancy. Reference #1: Chaaya, G., & Vishnubhotla, P. (2017). Pulmonary Vein Thrombosis: A Recent Systematic Review. Cureus, 9(1), e993. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.993 Reference #2: Rana, M. A., Tilbury, N., & Kumar, Y. (2016). Idiopathic pulmonary vein thrombus extending into left atrium: a case report and review of the literature. Hindawi Publishing Corporation: Case Reports in Medicine, 2016, (article ID 3528393), 1-3. https://www.hindawi.com/journals/crim/2016/3528393/ Reference #3: Sahay, S., & Lodato, R. (2013). Pulmonary vein thrombosis: a rare entity. CHEST Journal, 144 (4_MeetingAbstracts). https://journal.chestnet.org/article/S0012-3692(16)42762-5/fulltext DISCLOSURES: No relevant relationships by Kendall Creed, source=Web Response No relevant relationships by Peter Khalil, source=Web Response No relevant relationships by Victor Test, source=Web Response No relevant relationships by Alexandra Wichmann, source=Web Response