A large un-ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm causing pulmonary embolism

Increased risk of deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary thromboembolism in patients with aortic aneurysms: A nationwide cohort study

Studies on the association between aortic aneurysm (AA) and the subsequent risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE) are limited to a few case reports and investigations which only focused on surgical effects. Therefore, we used the National Health Insurance Research Database to clarify whether patients with AAs have a heightened risk of subsequent VTEs, including deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE). Our retrospective cohort study comprised patients aged ≥ 18 years who received a diagnosis of an AA and were hospitalized at any point during 2000–2010 (n = 16,630). Each AA patient was frequency-matched to 4 non-AA hospitalized patients based on age, sex, and index year (n = 66,453). The Cox proportional hazard regressions model was used to estimate the adjusted effect of AAs on VTE risk. The overall incidence of DVT and PE was higher in the patients with AA than in the non-AA group patients (23.5 versus 13.2 and 13.5 versus 7.98/1,000 person-years). After adjustment for age, sex, duration of hospitalization in the study period, and comorbidities, patients with AAs were associated with a 1.88-fold higher risk of DVT and 1.90-fold higher risk of PE compared to the non-AA cohort. Patients with abdominal AAs were more likely to develop DVT, whereas thoracic AA patients were more likely to develop PE. A diagnosis of a ruptured AA was associated with a substantially increased risk of DVT. Surgical treatment of AAs was associated with a heightened risk of VTE within 6-months post-operation. Our study demonstrates that AAs are associated with an increased risk of subsequent VTE. Future investigations are encouraged to delineate the mechanisms underlying this association and to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of screening for VTEs in patients with AAs.

Pulmonary Embolism due to Inferior Vena Cava Compression by a Retroperitoneal Hematoma after Endovascular Repair of a Ruptured Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm

We report a case of a patient with a residual hematoma compressing the inferior vena cava after endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR), which led to a pulmonary embolism (PE). A 65-year-old man underwent emergent EVAR for a ruptured aortic aneurysm in the right retroperitoneal region. He developed sudden chest pain at midnight of the fifth day after EVAR, and computed tomography demonstrated a massive PE. He subsequently went into cardiopulmonary arrest. This case suggested that abdominal complications due to a residual hematoma, including deep vein thrombosis and PE, should be considered in addition to compartment syndrome.