| factor xi deficiency is an hereditary coagulopathy that is usually associated with milder tendency to bleeding with comparison to hemophilia a. While the failure of stable fibrin clot formation may lead to bleeding, it is speculated that the same process may provide a protection against thrombosis of injured arteries due to atherosclerotic plaque rupture. Whereas 2 studies indicate that hemophiliacs have decreased mortality rate from cardiovascular diseases, there is no similar data regarding factor xi deficiency patients. In here we report about 3 patients with severe factor xi deficiency who have a long-standing history of thromboembolic phenomena: 2 patients with myocardial infarctions, and one patient with transient ischemic attacks. We discuss the possible role of factor XI in thrombosis, and whether its deficiency may protect patients from thromboembolic phenomena. ( info) |
2/591. Spinal epidural hematoma and high thromboembolic risk: between Scylla and Charybdis. OBJECTIVE: To determine the optimal time for reinstitution of anticoagulant therapy after evacuation of spinal epidural hematoma in patients who have a high risk for cardiogenic embolization. MATERIAL AND methods: The clinical histories of all patients with a spinal epidural hematoma encountered at Mayo Clinic Rochester between 1975 and 1996 were reviewed. We present three cases of spontaneous spinal epidural hematoma and the management of anticoagulation in each case. RESULTS: Of the 17 patients identified, 3 received anticoagulant therapy at the onset of the hematoma and were at high risk for cardiogenic embolization. In two patients with a metallic heart valve and one patient with long-standing atrial fibrillation, anticoagulant therapy was discontinued for 5, 13, and 18 days, respectively, after decompressive laminectomy. Systemic embolization occurred in one patient with a previous history of embolization to the femoral artery. No systemic embolization occurred in the two patients with a metallic valve. CONCLUSION: Early resumption of warfarin therapy is indicated after a spinal surgical procedure; however, discontinuation of anticoagulation for several days seems safe while postoperative hemostasis is monitored. ( info) |
| The factor v Leiden mutation is a recently described autosomal dominant genetic risk factor for venous thromboembolism (VTE). persons who are heterozygous or homozygous for this disorder are at 4 to 7 times and 50 to 100 times increased risk, respectively, for VTE. In particular, women have unique challenges because the presence of the Leiden mutation in combination with pregnancy or use of oral contraceptives results in an even greater increased risk for VTE. This article will review the factor v Leiden mutation, its association with VTE, and the genetic inheritance pattern and ethnic distribution. Oral contraceptive use, pregnancy, and hormone replacement therapy in women with the Leiden mutation will be discussed. Screening issues and management for all patients, and women in particular, will be addressed. nursing implications for care management of this group of patients is complex and requires evaluation of the significance of newly defined genetic disorders such as the factor v Leiden mutation. nurses need to be knowledgeable about genetic screening, risk factors, risk-reduction counseling, and considerations for long-term therapy, which include quality of life issues. Two case studies exemplify many of the issues that will be discussed. ( info) |
4/591. Neoplastic thrombotic endocarditis of the tricuspid valve in a patient with carcinoma of the thyroid. Report of a case. A rare case of neoplastic thrombotic endocarditis of the tricuspid valve in a patient with poorly differentiated follicular carcinoma of the thyroid is described. Although some previous reports documented extension of the follicular thyroid carcinoma into the great veins of the neck to the right cardiac chambers, this seems to be the first report of a neoplastic thrombotic lesion of the tricuspid valve in a patient with thyroid carcinoma. In our institute, where about 2,500 autopsies are performed yearly, and about 600 valvular lesions are discovered, such a lesion was never detected. In patients with carcinoma, a neoplastic thrombotic endocarditis may be a source of microembolic neoplastic spread leading to a possible pulmonary colonisation. ( info) |
5/591. Clinical therapeutic conference: recurrent venous thrombotic and thromboembolic disease. Recurrent venous thrombotic and thromboembolic disease, once thought to be an uncommon entity, is increasingly being recognized. Etiologies of recurrent deep venous thrombosis usually include elements of Virchow's triad. Venous stasis (e.g., immobilization, congestive heart failure, acute myocardial infarction, obesity), hypercoagulability (e.g., malignancy, inflammatory bowel disease, hyperhomocysteinemia, protein c resistance, antithrombin iii, protein c or S deficiency) and endothelial trauma (e.g., surgical trauma, venous trauma, in-dwelling venous instrumentation) are risk factors. diagnosis is dependent on objective testing, including venography duplex Doppler (color) ultrasonography and impedance plethysmography. Treatment is usually started with heparin or low-molecular-weight heparin and advanced to warfarin (adjusted to international normalized ratio). Prophylaxis may continue using low-molecular-weight heparin, warfarin, venacaval interruption (Greenfield filter), or concomitant use of the platelet-active agent indobufen and graduated compression stockings. ( info) |
6/591. Cutaneous necrosis as a terminal paraneoplastic thromboembolic event in a patient with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Thrombotic complications in non-Hodgkin's lymphoma often originate in the large veins. We describe a patient with refractory advanced high-grade lymphoma who presented with the rare complication of extensive cutaneous necrosis due to thrombosis of dermal vessels; there was also a recent new peak of monoclonal IgM-kappa protein. Direct immunofluorescence demonstrated immune deposits with complement in the dermal vessel wall. Based on these observations and on published data, we suggest that these complexes were the trigger for the thrombotic events and that the monoclonal IgM acted as xenoreactive antibodies, initiating a cascade of events. The first step of this cascade was activation of the complement and the membrane attack complex, which caused secretion of IL-1 alpha by endothelial cells, followed by overexpression of tissue factor on the surface of the dermal vessel wall endothelium. Dermal vessel thrombosis was the final event in this cascade. ( info) |
| We present two case reports of patients who suffered a pulmonary embolism (PE) in the week following surgery for removal of a meningioma. Both patients were anticoagulated in the first week following surgery, and as a result, both suffered intracerebral bleeds requiring further surgery. An inferior vena caval (IVC) filter was then used in both patients to prevent further embolic events. Following our experience, we believe that it is dangerous to use intravenous anticoagulation within 6 days of cranial surgery for removal of a meningioma. We have reviewed the literature concerning the present guidelines for thromboembolic prophylaxis in patients requiring neurosurgery and believe that consideration of subcutaneous low-molecular-weight heparin should now be given to all patients requiring craniotomy for removal of a meningioma. ( info) |
8/591. Stenosis-jet can cause a dissection of the superficial femoral artery. A dissection of the superficial femoral artery mainly occurs due to trauma or manipulation of the artery by means of interventional procedures. In contrast to dissections of the carotid arteries which are known to occur spontaneously we present the case of a stenosis of the superficial femoral artery that led to a dissection caused by the stenosis-jet. The dissection on the other hand caused an appositional thrombus which led to the embolic occlusion of the pedal-arteries. In case of peripheral embolisms in patients with or without history of peripheral arterial occlusion disease it is important to look for a causing arterial pathology preferably by duplex sonography. ( info) |
9/591. Thromboembolism in the right side of the heart. Right-sided cardiac thromboemboli, or pulmonary emboli-in-transit, represent an unusual disease process with high morbidity and mortality. We present a detailed case report and a synopsis of our experience at the University of mississippi Medical Center between 1990 and 1997 and review the current medical literature. These thrombi and emboli may largely be subdivided into type A--a mobile, serpiginous clot that is probably a mobilized deep vein thrombus--and type B--a rather immobile clot morphologically similar to left-sided heart thrombi that may represent intracardiac thrombosis. The mainstays of therapy include surgical embolectomy and thrombolysis, but there is no clear benefit of one over the other. Treatment should be individualized according to the clot's size and morphology, likelihood of preexisting pulmonary embolism, the patient's cardiopulmonary reserve, comorbid conditions, and local expertise with treatment modalities. ( info) |
10/591. Thromboembolism originated from the pulmonary artery stump after Fontan operation. Cerebral thromboembolism is a rare but serious complication after Fontan operation. This is the report of a patient who underwent a successful intracardiac thrombectomy for cerebral thromboembolism after Fontan operation. A 2-year-old girl was referred to us with the diagnosis of tricuspid atresia without pulmonary stenosis, normally related great arteries, and a ventricular septal defect. Although she underwent a successful Fontan operation and division of the main pulmonary artery, she developed a cerebrovascular event at 3 weeks after the operation. echocardiography demonstrated a large thrombus within the residue of the main pulmonary artery, and suggested that the thrombus had migrated into the systemic circulation by way of the ventricular septal defect. At 2 weeks after the cerebrovascular event, she underwent thrombectomy and excision of the pulmonary valve. Although she has developed slight left-sided hemiparesis, she is leading a normal life at 1 year after the operation. ( info) |