Acute massive pulmonary embolism in a Jehovah's witness: successful treatment with catheter thrombectomy.
A 71-year-old woman presented with an acute, massive pulmonary embolism. As a Jehovah's Witness, she was not willing to accept thrombolysis because of the potential risk of bleeding requiring blood transfusion. The patient was successfully treated with catheter thrombectomy, using rheolytic and fragmentation devices. (CHEST 2000; 117:594-597)
Blaustein
H S
HS
Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Interventional Radiology, St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center, New York, NY 10025, USA.
Schur
I
I
Shapiro
J M
JM
D000368:Aged; D002407:Catheterization, Swan-Ganz; D002835:Christianity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D011655:Pulmonary Embolism / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000628:therapy*; D011877:Radionuclide Imaging; D017131:Thrombectomy; D015912:Thrombolytic Therapy; D016312:Treatment Refusal; D014692:Ventilation-Perfusion Ratio / Q000502:physiology