A Review of the Usefulness of Catheter-Directed Thrombolysis for Pulmonary Embolism.

Venous thromboembolic disease (VTE) is a health problem; around 10 million cases occur yearly with substantial morbidity and mortality. Those who survive may be left with long-term sequelae. Those sequelae might include chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension, persistent right ventricular dysfunction, exercise intolerance, and reduced quality of life. Current PE management consists of anticoagulation alone, systemic thrombolysis, catheter-directed thrombolysis, and surgical embolectomy. The severity of patients with pulmonary embolism (PE) depends on the clinic and not exclusively on the extent of radiological or anatomical involvement. In this review, we present the main clinical and functional characteristics of patients in whom thrombotic fragmentation plus catheter-guided thrombolysis is used to manage acute PE of intermediate-high risk and torpid evolution within the first hours of admission.

Chronic Thromboembolic Pulmonary Hypertension (CTEPH): A Review of Another Sequel of Severe Post-Covid-19 Pneumonia.

The spectrum of pulmonary parenchymal and vascular pathologies related to the COVID-19 have emerged. There is evidence of a specific susceptibility related to thrombotic microangiopathy in situ and a complex immune-inflammatory cascade, especially in the pulmonary vascular bed. The potential to lead to transient or self-correcting sequelae of pulmonary vascular injury will only become apparent with longer-term follow-up. In this review, we aimed to present the findings in a group of patients with severe pneumonia due to covid-19 complicated by acute pe documented by chest angiography, who during a follow-up of more than 3 months with oral anticoagulant met clinical, hemodynamic, and imaging criteria of chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension. We present a brief review of the epidemiology, pathophysiology, clinical findings, comorbidities, treatment, and imaging findings of chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension as a sequel of severe post-covid-19 pneumonia; and compared and discussed these findings with similar reports from the medical literature.

Pulmonary Embolism (PE) Prevalence in Mexican-Mestizo Patients With Severe SARS-COV-2 (COVID-19) Pneumonia At A Tertiary-Level Hospital: A Review.

Since the report of the first case of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, on December 31, 2019, several associated thrombotic complications have been reported, mainly venous thromboembolic events, and myocardial infarctions, in addition to peripheral arterial thrombosis and cerebral vascular events, which have been attributed to a hypercoagulable state. We aimed to know the prevalence and prognostic biomarkers in patients with pulmonary thromboembolism (PE) and SARS Cov-2 pneumonia. Hospitalized patients with SARS Cov-2 pneumonia who have had clinical, biomarker, and imaging data (chest angiography) of pulmonary thromboembolism were included. Descriptive statistics and prevalence rates were calculated. For the analysis between the groups, the paired Student's t and the Wilcoxon test were performed. CT angiography was performed on 26 patients at our institution, with a diagnosis of severe pneumonia secondary to SARS-CoV2. 9 of the patients (34.6%) had a venous thromboembolic disease. Type 2 DM was the most frequent comorbidity up to 55.5% of the total; it was followed by obesity and overweight in 55.5%, and in third place, by systemic arterial hypertension in 33.3% of the cases, 1 (11.1%) patient had chronic kidney disease and 1 (11.1%) patient with a history of cancer, only 1 patient met criteria and was treated with thrombolysis. 6 (66.6%) of the patients had segmental PE, 3 (33.3%) patients had subsegmental PE, and 4 (44.4%) patients presented pulmonary infarction.

In Situ Pulmonary Thrombolysis and Perfusion Lung Angiography in Severe COVID-19 Respiratory Failure.

A proof-of-concept study using thrombolysis with catheter-directed tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) and pulmonary angiography imaging was performed to visualize perfusion deficits and reperfusion/therapeutic effects of tPA. DESIGN: A prospective, open-label, compassionate study. Descriptive statistics were presented for categorical variables and as means with sds for continuous variables. The Wilcoxon test was used to determine the differences between the two-related samples and a t test for continuous variables. Statistical significance was set at p value of less than 0.05. Agreement between observations was evaluated using the Kappa Cohen index and overall agreement using the Fleiss Kappa coefficient. SETTING: A single COVID-19 ICU of Mexico´s General Hospital Dr Eduardo Liceaga. SUBJECTS: Fifteen patients with severe Delta variant severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection, 18-75 years old, requiring mechanical ventilation with a persistent Fio2 requirement of 70% or higher and Pao2/Fio2 ratio (or imputed ratio) less than 150 for more than 4 hours. The coagulation inclusion criteria were International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis score greater than 5, and presence of a d-dimer greater than 1,200, with viscoelastic testing using rotational thromboelastometry (Instrumentation Laboratories, Mexico City, Mexico) showing both hypercoagulability (EXTEM amplitude at 5 min > 65 FIBTEM > 30) and hypofibrinolysis (EXTEM maximum lysis < 8%). INTERVENTIONS: Catheter-directed tPA angiography and iFlow system analysis to assess pre-tPA baseline pulmonary perfusion and changes in response to thrombolysis. RESULTS: Nine patients had microvascular filling defects demonstrated by angiography, and good agreement was found with iFlow analysis (ƙ = 0.714). Statistically significant differences were identified in the area under the curve (AUC) region of interest/AUC reference tissue with and without filling defects in phase 2 DM -0.09206 (sd ± 0.16684) (p = 0.003). The Pao2/Fio2 values measured immediately and 48 hours after the procedure were significantly higher (p = 0.001 and p = 0.005, respectively). Statistically significant differences were found in d-dimer values (p = 0.007), Fio2 (p = 0.002), and oxygen saturation in arterial blood/Fio2 (p = 0.045), as well as in the number of patients who required prone positioning before, immediately after the procedure, and at 48 hours after the procedure (p = 0.002). CONCLUSIONS: Thrombolysis with catheter-directed tPA resulted in imaging evidence via pulmonary angiography and iFlow technology of improved lung perfusion in COVID-19 patients with severe respiratory failure.

Bilateral carotid body tumor case: A novel preoperative management.

Paragangliomas are rare neuroendocrine neoplasms. The most common form of these tumors in head and neck are non-functional carotid body tumors. These neoplasms may present an extensive growth and compromise vital neurovascular structures in the neck, such as carotid vessels. Carotid body tumors usually present clinically as painless neck masses and occur most frequently in adults averaging 45 to 50 years, being the majority of these tumors unilateral and only 5% of all cases bilateral. The main treatment for carotid body paragangliomas is surgical resection, which can be extremely challenging due to tumor hypervascularity and significant blood loss. We present a bilateral carotid body tumor case in a 61-year-old woman who presented due to a pulsatile and painless mass in the right carotid region of the neck of 1-year of evolution. The tumor was found encasing the external carotid artery and classified as Shamblin II. A novel approach for preoperative management was performed, placing a covered graft-stent in the right common and proximal (C1) internal carotid arteries in order to splint and provide structural protection for carotid vessels during surgical resection and temporarily reduce blood flow of the carotid body tumor.

Scrotal arteriovenous malformation: Case report.

Scrotal arteriovenous malformations (AVM) are extremely rare, making them difficult and complex to diagnose, and a therapeutic challenge; few cases of this type have been reported in the literature. This article reports the case of a male patient, 12 years old, with congenital AVM and background of treatment with sclerotherapy and embolization: it was decided to perform a surgical resection, which was successful. Angiography is obligatory in arteriolar cases, and it was backed up with surgical AVM treatment, taking into account the great importance of pre-surgical embolization.

May-Thurner syndrome with inferior mesenteric vein drainage and porta system - Case report.

We present the case of a 12-year-old girl with a history of vascular anomalies in the lower pelvic limbs and back, who developed unilateral deep vein thrombosis of the left lower limb after her pubertal development, she was diagnosed with May-Thurner syndrome with an abnormal venous drainage of the pelvic structures through the superior hemorrhoidal veins to the inferior mesenteric vein towards the porta system, this being a chronic manifestation. This kind of behavior has not been documented in the reviewed medical literature. Secondarily, balloon angioplasty was performed without breaking the stenotic ring. As a second attempt, it was decided to place the venous stent, with satisfactory resolution of the symptoms. There are controversies about the indications for the use of anticoagulants and antiplatelet agents, or the indications to place a venous stent in children. We must consider an approach to for effective therapeutic treatment in these cases is to control bleeding, the main goal being trying to avoid ulcerations in the lower limb due to venous insufficiency with irreversible affectation of the valvular system.