ABSTRACT
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a pandemic that started in China in December 2019 and carries a high risk of morbidity and mortality. To-date (4-22-2020) it affected over 2.6 million people and resulted in nearly 200,000 death worldwide mainly due to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-Cov-2). Among the major underlying pathophysiologic mechanisms in COVID 19 is hypercoagulability, leading to increased risk for deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism that contribute to increased morbidity and mortality. In this report, we present the case of a 55-year-old man who presented with COVID-19 pneumonia, and was found to have a thrombus in transit by routine point of care ultrasound (POCUS). While computer tomography (CT) angiography is the test of choice, the utilization of point of care ultrasound (POCUS) has gained traction as an adjunctive means of surveillance for the development of VTE in patients with COVID-19. In this report, we discuss the clinical utility of POCUS in diagnosing thrombus in transit in COVID 19 populations.
ABSTRACT
Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) is currently a public health emergency and has been listed by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a pandemic. It has commonly been associated with pulmonary manifestations and there is a growing body of evidence of multisystem involvement of the virus. As evidenced by various case reports and cohort studies, COVID-19-associated coagulopathy has been a common manifestation amongst the critically ill and has been associated with increased mortality. The presence of venous thromboembolic events in patients who are critically ill due to COVID-19 has prompted the adoption of anticoagulation regimens aimed at preventing thromboembolic phenomena. Coagulation abnormalities have also been implicated in the progression and the severity of COVID-19 related acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC). There is strong evidence that D-dimer levels help predict which patients are at risk of thromboembolic events, progression to ARDS, DIC, immune dysregulation and mortality. We will review the utility of D-dimer as screening tool and in the risk stratification of COVID-19 patients prone to developing thromboembolic events, DIC, immune dysregulation and death. To date, the studies that have been published show the presence of elevated D-dimer levels in both the adult and pediatric populations and the measured level correlates with disease severity. Studies have also shown the relative increase of D-dimer levels in non-survivors compared to survivors. The elevation of D-dimer levels has shown to guide clinical decision making, namely the initiation of therapeutic anticoagulation and mortality benefit in patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia compared to severe non COVID-19 pneumonia. Although the current body of literature suggested the use of D-dimer as a risk stratification tool and as a test to augment clinical judgement regarding the initiation of anticoagulation, randomized control trials are needed to fully understand the relationship between COVID-19 infection and the efficacy of D-dimer assays in clinical decision making.