Pulmonary Embolism in COVID-19 and the Unanswered Questions

Abstract

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has ravaged the global society as we know it. As almost a dozen pharmaceutical agents go into randomized controlled clinical trials, multiple studies have surfaced trying to associate a hypercoagulable state to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients. We report two COVID-19 cases who presented with occlusive pulmonary embolism (PE) strongly supporting a hypercoagulable state incurred by SARS-CoV-2. This is significant as it is one of the early reports of such an initial presentation of COVID-19 in the USA. Through our report, we invite the medical community to share a perspective about long-term management guidelines for SARS-CoV-2 associated venous thromboembolism (VTE) and prompt future research.




J Med Cases. 2020;11(6):174-177
doi: https://doi.org/10.14740/jmc3488