A pulmonary
embolus is a blood clot that usually forms in the legs or deep pelvic veins, then breaks off and travels to lodge in the lung.
The rationale behind thrombolytic therapy is to dissolve the arterial occlusion (thrombus or
embolus) and reestablish blood flow to ischemic brain before the area becomes infarcted.
Risk factors for developing cerebral air
embolus during invasive vascular manipulations include hypovolemia, increased intrathoracic pressure in deep inspiration, and mobile or upright patients [2, 15, 20].
Eichelberger, "Shotgun pellet
embolus to the middle cerebral artery," Neurology, vol.
3 Palp with long
embolus, winding once around tegulum, tip U-shaped (Fig.
To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of a case with intra-cardiac thrombus as the source of
embolus in an adult with CHD and CVE.
As suspected, the CT showed a large saddle
embolus with characteristics consistent with tumour thromboembolus (Fig.
Embolus with wide base leading to coiled, distally narrow tip.
1, 7);
embolus surrounding tegulum, supported by conductor; conductor sclerotized ventrally, with retrolateral laminar projection supporting
embolus tip (Figs.
In other words, pulmonary
embolus as a cause for respiratory deterioration is difficult to exclude, but potentially dangerous if missed.
Acute pulmonary emboli can be classified further by degree of pulmonary artery involvement,
embolus mobility, the presence or absence of a major predisposing factor, or the interaction of PE size and underlying cardiovascular status.