Complications of deep vein thrombosis: pulmonary thromboembolism and venous gangrene of the lower extremities (clinical case)

Abstract

Venous thrombosis and thromboembolic complications are an important public health problem. According to current recommendations for the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of venous thromboembolic complications, patients are stratified by the risk of pulmonary embolism, by the risk of death in pulmonary embolism, respectively, diagnostic and therapeutic tactics are recommended. Adherence to the recommendations allows to reduce mortality from pulmonary embolism, in the opposite case, mortality from pulmonary embolism remains high due to the problems of rapid diagnosis and risk-adjusted therapy. If pulmonary embolism is a frequent complication of venous thrombosis, then venous gangrene is a rather rare complication, which is also characterized by high mortality. A rare case of a combination of two serious complications of deep vein thrombosis is described: thromboembolism of the pulmonary artery and venous gangrene of both lower extremities. Late diagnosis and late treatment led to amputation of both lower extremities, performed in the presence of a floating thrombus in the inferior vena cava and right heart. The causes of late diagnosis and the complexity of the treatment of simultaneously developed two complications are analyzed.