A Case of Thrombus in Transit: Role of POCUS in Early Diagnosis of Pulmonary Thromboembolism

Pramod Theetha Kariyanna¹, Jessica Celenza-Salvatore¹, Apoorva Jayarangaiah², George Jojo Punnakudiyil³ and Isabel M. McFarlane^1,

¹Division of Cardiovascular Diseases and Department of Internal Medicine, State University of New York, Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn NY 11203, USA

²Division of Hematology- Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, Albert Einstein College of medicine/ Jacobi Medical Center, Bronx, N.Y., U.S.A 10461

³Department of Internal Medicine, Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Center, Brooklyn, New York 11212

Cite this paper

Pramod Theetha Kariyanna, Jessica Celenza-Salvatore, Apoorva Jayarangaiah, George Jojo Punnakudiyil and Isabel M. McFarlane. A Case of Thrombus in Transit: Role of POCUS in Early Diagnosis of Pulmonary Thromboembolism. American Journal of Medical Case Reports. 2020; 8(2):67-69. doi: 10.12691/AJMCR-8-2-7

Abstract

Pulmonary embolism is a cause of significant morbidity and mortality. Thrombus in transit is defined on ultrasound as mobile echogenic material, temporarily located in the right heart chambers making its way to the pulmonary vasculature, which is highly diagnostic of pulmonary embolism. Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) places significant role in early diagnosis of thrombus in transit. Point-of-care ultrasound also avoids the need for subsequent computed tomography angiogram for diagnosis of pulmonary embolism. We present the case of 53-year-old male who presented with shortness of breath and was noted to have sinus tachycardia; thrombus in transit was diagnosed by point-of-care ultrasound and was subsequently confirmed through computer tomography angiogram of the pulmonary artery.

Keywords

thrombus in transit, point-of-care ultrasound, pulmonary embolism, S1Q3T3

Copyright

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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