ABSTRACT
Presentation of a 62-year-old man with baseline chronic obstructive pulmonary disease admitted to the hospital with dyspnea and newly diagnosed COVID-19 infection. CT scan of the chest was obtained to rule out pulmonary embolism. This revealed a mural thrombus of the inner curvature of the aortic arch with a floating component. Therapeutic full dose anticoagulation was initiated in combination with close clinical observation and treatment for modest hypoxia. He did well for 1 month and then returned with ischemic rest pain of the right foot. Angiography revealed thrombosis of all 3 tibial arteries in the right leg. Percutaneous mechanical thrombectomy with tissue plasminogen activator injection and angioplasty was performed with success in 1 tibial artery to achieve in line flow to the foot. After continued anticoagulation, the remainder of the tibial arteries autolysed and the aortic thrombus was noted to be resolved 4 months later. A brief pathophysiology discussion is included.
ABSTRACT
The optimal management strategy of acute limb ischemia in non-ventilated patients with COVID-19 is uncertain. We propose that non-ventilated patients who develop COVID-19 related spontaneous arterial thrombosis with associated limb threat may be best suited with percutnaeous revascularization to achieve limb salvage. Herein we describe 5 cases of patients who had severely threatened limbs with complete thrombosis of all 3 tibial arteries who were treated with percutaneous revascularization. All 5 patients were felt to be facing inevitable amputation without revascularization should they survive their COVID hospitalization. We were able to achieve limb salvage in all 5 patients selected for therapy, although 2 ultimately succumbed to respiratory failure.