Kalivoda EJ, Rivera Rodriguez K, Cabrera G. Right Heart Thrombus in Transit Diagnosed With Focused Cardiac Ultrasound in the Emergency Department.
Cureus 2020;
12:e9354. [PMID:
32850226 PMCID:
PMC7444960 DOI:
10.7759/cureus.9354]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2020] [Accepted: 07/11/2020] [Indexed: 01/26/2023] Open
Abstract
The diagnosis of a right heart thrombus (RHTh) in transit associated with pulmonary embolism (PE) is an uncommon phenomenon with a high mortality rate. Timely recognition of RHTh with focused cardiac ultrasound (FOCUS) in cases of suspected PE is necessary for critical decision making in the emergency department (ED). We present a case of RHTh with submassive PE in which the patient underwent successful catheter-directed thrombolysis. This case report illustrates the significance of an emergency physician (EP) implementing FOCUS during the initial ED evaluation to rapidly diagnose RHTh in transit and initiate PE therapy without delay.
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