All that clots is not blood: Bone cement implantation syndrome presenting as an intracardiac mass and pulmonary embolism

Bone cement implantation syndrome (BCIS) is a rare and potentially fatal perioperative complication of cemented orthopaedics surgery. A CT-pulmonary angiogram and echocardiogram images were acquired from an 88-year-old patient who had a perioperative collapse while undergoing a revision operation for a peri-implant fracture of the right femoral neck. Findings were suggestive of an intracardiac clot connected to a saddle pulmonary artery embolus. Patient also developed disseminated intravascular coagulation. Overall findings were suggestive of bone cement implantation syndrome.

Clinical and radiological characteristics of acute pulmonary embolus in relation to 28-day and 6-month mortality

Background Patients with acute pulmonary embolism (PE) exhibit a wide spectrum of clinical and laboratory features when presenting to hospital and pathophysiologic mechanisms differentiating low-risk and high-risk PE are poorly understood. Objectives To investigate the prognostic value of clinical, laboratory and radiological information that is available within routine tests undertaken for patients with acute PE. Methods Electronic patient records (EPR) of patients who underwent Computed Tomography Pulmonary Angiogram (CTPA) scan for the investigation of acute PE during 6-month period (01.01.2016–30.06.2016) were examined. Data was gathered from EPR for patients that met inclusion criteria and all CTPA scans were re-evaluated. Biochemical thresholds of low-grade and high-grade inflammation, serum CRP >10mg/L and >150mg/L and serum albumin concentrations <35g/L and <25 g/L, were combined in the Glasgow Prognostic Score (GPS) and peri-operative Glasgow Prognostic Score (poGPS) respectively. Neutrophil Lymphocyte ratio (NLR) was also calculated. Pulmonary Embolus Severity Index score was calculated. Results Of the total CTPA reports (n = 2129) examined, 245 patients were eligible for inclusion. Of these, 20 (8%) patients had died at 28-days and 43 (18%) at 6-months. Of the 197 non-cancer related presentations, 28-day and 6-month mortality were 3% and 8% respectively. Of the 48 cancer related presentations, 28-day and 6-month mortality were 29% and 58% respectively. On univariate analysis, age ≥65 years (p<0.01), PESI score ≥100(p = <0.001), NLR ≥3(p<0.001) and Coronary Artery Calcification (CAC) score ≥ 6 (p<0.001) were associated with higher 28-day and 6-month mortality. PESI score ≥100 (OR 5.2, 95% CI: 1.1, 24.2, P <0.05), poGPS ≥1 (OR 2.5, 95% CI: 1.2–5.0, P = 0.01) and NLR ≥3 (OR 3.7, 95% CI: 1.0–3.4, P <0.05) remained independently associated with 28-day mortality. On multivariate binary logistic regression analysis of factors associated with 6-month mortality, PESI score ≥100 (OR 6.2, 95% CI: 2.3–17.0, p<0.001) and coronary artery calcification score ≥6 (OR 2.3, 95% CI: 1.1–4.8, p = 0.030) remained independently associated with death at 6-months. When patients who had an underlying cancer diagnosis were excluded from the analysis only GPS≥1 remained independently associated with 6-month mortality (OR 5.0, 95% CI 1.2–22.0, p<0.05). Conclusion PESI score >100, poGPS≥1, NLR ≥3 and CAC score ≥6 were associated with 28-day and 6-month mortality. PESI score ≥100, poGPS≥1 and NLR ≥3 remained independently associated with 28-day mortality. PESI score ≥100 and CAC score ≥6 remained independently associated with 6-month mortality. When patients with underlying cancer were excluded from the analysis, GPS≥1 remained independently associated with 6-month mortality. The role of the systemic inflammatory response (SIR) in determining treatment and prognosis requires further study. Routine reporting of CAC scores in CTPA scans for acute PE may have a role in aiding clinical decision-making regarding treatment and prognosis.

780 Appearing and disappearing right-heart thrombus: a case reporto in COVID-19 patient

Aims Venous thromboembolism represents frequent complication of patients with severe COVID-19 disease. Several reports about atypical thrombosis are described, rarely it has been described a right venticular thrombus during the course of infection. We report a case of right endoventricular thrombosis in a patient with SARS-Cov-2 pneumonia. Methods and results A 58-year-old man was admitted to our ward for severe respiratory failure in interstitial pneumonia. The nasopharyngeal swab for COVID-19 resulted positive. Steroids and prophylaxis with LMWH were started, associated to CPAP to maintain good gas exchange. During hospitalization a venous ECD was performed with evidence of left popliteal thrombosis despite the therapy. d-Dimer was 4463 ng/ml. A new onset AF was documented at the telemetry, without troponin elevation. A cardiac ultrasound was performed showing a right endoventricular lesion of 1.8 cm adhering to the free wall of the right ventricle. A CT-pulmonary angiogram (CTPA) resulted negative for pulmonary embolism and confirmed suspected right ventricular thrombus. Treatment with fondaparinux 7.5 mg was started. After 10 days, cardiac ultrasound shown complete resolution of thrombosis, and CT confirmed the disappearing of the mass. Dabigatran 150 mg twice/day was started. Patient clinically improved and he was discharged after 20 days of hospitalization. Conclusions SARS-CoV-2 infection may cause inflammation with cytokine storm and hypercoagulability leading to venous thromboembolism. Atypical thrombus formation was reported, including right-ventricle free wall. Early caridac ultrasound was critical to make diagnosis and starting prompt treatment, therefore routine cardiac ultrasound is mandatory in severe COVID-19 patients.

Development Of A Machine Learning Model Using Electrocardiogram Signals To Improve Acute Pulmonary Embolism Screening

Aims Clinical scoring systems for pulmonary embolism (PE) screening have low specificity and contribute to CT pulmonary angiogram (CTPA) overuse. We assessed whether deep learning models using an existing and routinely collected data modality, electrocardiogram (ECG) waveforms, can increase specificity for PE detection. Methods and Results We create a retrospective cohort of 21,183 patients at moderate- to high-suspicion of PE and associate 23,793 CTPAs (10.0% PE-positive) with 320,746 ECGs and encounter-level clinical data (demographics, comorbidities, vital signs, and labs). We develop three machine learning models to predict PE likelihood: an ECG model using only ECG waveform data, an EHR model using tabular clinical data, and a Fusion model integrating clinical data and an embedded representation of the ECG waveform. We find that a Fusion model (area under receiver-operating characteristic [AUROC] 0.81 ± 0.01) outperforms both the ECG model (AUROC 0.59 ± 0.01) and EHR model (AUROC 0.65 ± 0.01). On a sample of 100 patients from the test set, the Fusion model also achieves greater specificity (0.18) and performance (AUROC 0.84 ± 0.01) than four commonly evaluated clinical scores: Wells' Criteria, Revised Geneva Score, Pulmonary Embolism Rule-Out Criteria, and 4-Level Pulmonary Embolism Clinical Probability Score (AUROC 0.50-0.58, specificity 0.00-0.05). The model is superior to these scores on feature sensitivity analyses (AUROC 0.66 to 0.84) and achieves comparable performance across sex (AUROC 0.81) and racial/ethnic (AUROC 0.77 to 0.84) subgroups. Conclusion Synergistic deep learning of electrocardiogram waveforms with traditional clinical variables can increase the specificity of PE detection in patients at least at moderate suspicion for PE.

Type II Abernethy malformation in an adult male patient—a rare and reversible cause of pulmonary hypertension: a case report with review of literature

Background Co-occurrence of Type II Abernethy malformation (AM) with Type 1 pulmonary hypertension (PH) is extremely rare. In these patients, management of AM leads to reversal of PH. Case presentation We report a case of 24-year-old male that presented with fever and dyspnea of insidious-onset. Initial X-ray chest revealed pulmonary edema, prominent pulmonary knuckle, and dilated right descending pulmonary artery. Two-dimensional echocardiography suggested raised pulmonary artery systolic pressure (145 mmHg) and pulmonary angiogram revealed findings suggestive of Type 1 PH. Treatment with Tab. Tadalafil-Bosentan (20/5 mg, thrice daily) was initiated, but no major relief was obtained. On day 10, dyspnea worsened. Routine ultrasound revealed splenomegaly. Further evaluation with Doppler of the portal vein was suggestive of portal hypertension, and arterial ammonia was found to be raised. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography of abdomen and pelvis demonstrated a single dilated (1.3 cm) and torturous venous shunt between right internal iliac vein and superior mesenteric vein. Thus, a definitive diagnosis of Type II AM was reached. The patient was stabilized and subjected to the shunt closure with ASD Cocoon stent graft and recovered well. Conclusion Our case demonstrates a rare but reversible cause of PH. Type II AM should be included in the differential diagnosis of a patient presenting with dyspnea and provisionally diagnosed as a case of PH.

Standard- versus intermediate-dose enoxaparin for anti-factor Xa guided thromboprophylaxis in critically ill patients with COVID-19

The prevalence of venous thromboembolism (VTE) is high in critically ill patients with COVID-19. Dosing of Low Molecular Weight Heparin (LMWH) for thromboprophylaxis in patients with severe COVID-19 is subject to ongoing debate.In this brief report, we describe our study where we retrospectively examined the efficacy of standard- versus intermediate-dosing of enoxaparin in attaining and maintaining accepted prophylactic levels of anti-Factor Xa (anti-FXa) in critically ill patients with COVID-19.We collected data for all patients with confirmed COVID-19 who were treated with enoxaparin for thromboprophylaxis in a single Intensive Care Unit (ICU) in the United Kingdom between 31st March and 16th November 2020. Standard-dose of enoxaparin was 40 mg subcutaneously once daily for patients with normal renal function and body weight between 50 and 100 kg; the intermediate-dose was 40 mg subcutaneously twice daily. Anti-FXa peak concentrations between 0.2-0.4 IU/ml were considered appropriate for thromboprophylaxis.Age, sex, weight, Body Mass Index, APACHE II score, ICU length of stay, initial P/F ratio and creatinine were not statistically significantly different between standard- and intermediate-dose thromboprophylaxis cohorts. In the standard-dose group, the median initial anti-FXa level was 0.13 (interquartile range 0.06-0.18) compared to 0.26 (0.21-0.33) in the intermediate-dose cohort (p < 0.001). On repeated measurement, in the standard dose cohort, 44 of 95 (46%) anti-FXa levels were < 0.2 IU/ml compared with 24 of 132 (18%) levels in the intermediate-dose cohort even after dose-adjustment. There was one radiologically confirmed pulmonary embolism (PE) on computed tomography pulmonary angiogram during hospital admission in each cohort.Our study supports starting intermediate-dose thromboprophylaxis for critically ill patients with COVID-19 to achieve anti-FXa levels in the accepted thromboprophylactic range although further study is required to investigate whether anti-FXa guided thromboprophylaxis is safe and effective in reducing the incidence of VTEs in critically ill patients with COVID-19.

Congenital Anomalous Azygos Vein Drainage Causing Pulmonary Embolus in a 91-Year-Old Patient

Background: Retroaortic course and azygos continuation of aberrant left brachiocephalic vein is a rare venous anomaly, which is usually associated with congenital heart disease and pulmonary artery anomalies. Venous stasis is a cause of pulmonary arterial thromboembolism, which can result from venous anomalies. Case presentation: We describe the case of a 91-year-old female admitted to our hospital with shortness of breath diagnosed with pulmonary embolism and infarctions by a CT pulmonary angiogram. CT also showed aberrant left brachiocephalic vein with vascular webs at its retroaortic course and azygos continuation, suggesting chronic venous thrombosis, which was considered to be the suspected source of emboli. Conclusion: To our knowledge, this is the first report presenting this vascular anomaly manifesting with chronic venous thrombosis and pulmonary embolism. Although rare, awareness and identification of this entity is important, especially in the absence of obvious embolic sources or in patients with recurrent embolus/consolidation.

Diagnosis of Pulmonary Embolism

Pulmonary embolism is an acute emergency due to the occlusion of the pulmonary arteries by a venous blood clot. The pathophysiology of pulmonary embolism follows Virchow\'s triad, which encompasses stasis in veins, increased coagulation, and vessel wall trauma. Pregnancy, major trauma or surgery, prolonged immobilization, obesity, medication, and inherited risks are important risks. It is an essential rule-out diagnosis in chest pain and dyspnea patients in the emergency room. It is also responsible for significant mortality if not diagnosed and treated promptly. Physicians utilize multiple algorithmic scores and calculators to supplement diagnosis along with a high degree of clinical suspicion at initial presentation. Clinical diagnosis involves utilizing multiple modalities, including D-dimer, troponin, arterial blood gas analysis, electrocardiogram, bedside echocardiogram, and imaging modalities such as venous duplex, chest computed tomography, ventilation-perfusion scans, and pulmonary angiogram. Some imaging modalities carry the risk of radiation and being invasive. The treatment can itself be short-term or lifelong based on the causative factor. Anticoagulants used in the therapy can itself cause devastating complications if not monitored appropriately. Despite adequate treatment, some of these patients progress to chronic disease resulting in secondary pulmonary hypertension.

Primary pulmonary angiosarcoma

Primary pulmonary angiosarcoma is a rare type of malignant vascular tumour with poor prognosis. Diagnosis is often late due to non-specific symptoms and low clinical suspicion for angiosarcoma. A 72-year-old man presented to hospital with a 6-month history of mild progressive dyspnoea, with associated cough, episodes of presyncope and weight loss. CT pulmonary angiogram (CTPA) was reported as a large saddle pulmonary embolism extending into both the right and left pulmonary arteries. Further Multidisciplinary team meeting (MDM) discussion, and review of CTPA and subsequent investigations revealed a large primary pulmonary artery sarcoma which was later confirmed histology. The patient was referred to the cardiothoracic surgeons and underwent left radical pneumonectomy.

Point-of-care contrast enhanced lung ultrasound and COVID-19

Objectives Bedside lung ultrasound has been indispensable during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, allowing us to rapidly assess critically unwell patients. We demonstrate the unique application of contrast-enhanced ultrasound with the aim of further understanding this disease. Methods Patient demographics were recorded alongside recent cross-sectional imaging and inflammatory markers. Ultrasound was conducted by experienced operators in a portable setting. Conventional six-point lung ultrasound method was used to evaluate B-lines, small (subpleural) consolidation and the pleura. Areas of small consolidation were targeted after intravenous administration of ultrasound contrast. Results The areas of small consolidations, a potential sign of pneumonia on B-mode lung ultrasound, usually enhance on contrast-enhanced ultrasound. Our study revealed these areas to be avascular, indicating an underlying thrombotic/infarction process. Findings were present in 100% of the patients we examined. We have also shown that the degree of infarction correlates with CT severity (r = 0.4) and inflammatory markers, and that these areas improve as patients recover. Conclusions We confirmed the theory of immune thrombus by identifying the presence of microthrombi in the lungs of 100% of our patients, despite 79% having had a recent negative CT pulmonary angiogram study. contrast-enhanced ultrasound can be utilised to add confidence to an uncertain COVID-19 diagnosis and for prognosticating and monitoring progress in confirmed COVID-19 patients. Contrast-enhanced ultrasound is clearly very different to CT, the gold standard, and while there are specific pathologies that can only be detected on CT, contrast-enhanced ultrasound has many advantages, most notability the ability to pick up microthrombi at the periphery of the lungs.