Vol. 47 | No. 2 | July-December 2019 Back

Open Access

“To Touch or To Watch”: A Case of Venous Thromboembolism in a Triathlete Complicated by a Mobile Thrombus in the Left Subclavian Vein

Abstract

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) encompasses deep venous thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary  embolism (PE). The reported incidence rates for PE (with or without DVT) range from 29 to 78 per 100,000 person-years whereas for DVT alone (without PE), range from 45 to 117 per 100,000  person-years. It is predominantly a disease of older age, and is rare prior to late adolescence. The  true incidence of VTE among athletes is unknown but several cases have been reported. 

We present the case of a 35-year-old Irish male with no known comorbidities, who presented  with seizures on the tenth hour of a triathlon race and was subsequently diagnosed to have  bilateral segmental pulmonary embolism, upper and lower extremity DVT, complicated by a mobile  thrombus in the left subclavian vein. Anticoagulation was the mainstay of management of this patient and he was eventually discharged improved. A review of literature on VTE, DVT, particularly  upper extremity deep venous thrombosis (UEDVT) and the patient’s hospital course are reported in  this paper.

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