Life-saving percutaneous intervention in young patient with massive pulmonary embolism.
Massive pulmonary embolism (PE) is not an uncommon condition, and it usually carries a high risk of mortality. It is one of the fatal conditions that commonly affect young patients. A definitive treatment for patients with massive PE is still lacking, and surgical intervention carries a substantial mortality risk. Thus, percutaneous intervention (clot fragmentation and/or aspiration) remains an option in some patients, specifically in those with a risk of bleeding, contraindicating the use of thrombolysis. There have been no randomized trials to validate percutaneous intervention in massive PE. A sufficient level of evidence is still lacking, and its use depends upon the expert committee's opinion and study of previous case reports. We present a 23-year-old man with first onset massive PE secondary to protein C deficiency, who was treated successfully with the combination of systemic thrombolysis and percutaneous interventions.
Cardiology Unit, University Malaya Medical Center, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. zul_yaakob@yahoo.com
Zul Hilmi
ZH
Yaakob
Abdul Wahab
AW
Undok
Imran Zainal
IZ
Abidin
Wan Azman
WA
Wan Ahmad
D000792:Angiography; D002404:Catheterization / Q000379:methods; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D020151:Protein C Deficiency / Q000150:complications*; D011655:Pulmonary Embolism / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D015912:Thrombolytic Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D055815:Young Adult