CLINICAL CASES   

Gazzetta Medica Italiana Archivio per le Scienze Mediche 2005 October;164(5):437-9

Copyright © 2005 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: Italian

Bilateral pulmonary embolism in a patient with superficial venous thrombosis

Aluigi L. ¹, Astorino G. ²

¹ Medicina Interna, Ospedale Maggiore, Bologna; ² Pronto Soccorso, Medicina d’Urgenza, Ospedale Maggiore, Bologna

Superficial thrombophlebitis of the leg (SVT) is often considered as a benign form and its treatment is not well codified. As reported in many works, it may frequently develop in deep vein thrombosis (DVT) (20-30%) or may be complicated with pulmonary embolism (PE) (10-20%). Therefore, in presence of SVT, especially if next to confluence with the deep system, it is very important to perform US scan in order to exclude DVT and/or to evaluate the length of the thrombus inside the superficial vein, to graduate therapy too.