A 74-year-old man presented to the emergency department after a motorcycle accident. He had a deformity in the right leg. His comorbidities were chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, ischemic cardiomyopathy due to myocardial infarction, atrial fibrillation, hypertension, and dyslipidemia. His medications included aspirin and clopidogrel. Following investigations in this admission, a brain computed tomography (CT) revealed that he had acute traumatic subdural hematoma that was managed with nonoperative treatment. His right leg was broken, which was diagnosed as a closed fracture of the tibia and fibula, and was managed conservatively. He had fractures at the left iliac crest and the left superior pubic rami. The neurovascular conditions were normal. During admission, he had acute dyspnea with desaturation but no chest pain at ten days after admission. On examination, his blood pressure was 102/78 mmHg, pulse rate was 100/min, respiratory rate was 24/min, and blood oxygen saturation (SpO2) was 90% in room air, which was not corrected with oxygen supplement. He had crepitation at his left lower lung but no wheezing. CT angiography of the chest was performed and showed acute PEs at the right superior and inferior trunk. He was found to have acute respiratory failure and hypotension after the chest CT angiography was finished. He was scheduled for an emergency operation for surgical pulmonary embolectomy.\nOn the next day at the surgical intensive care unit (ICU), he developed progressive left leg edema with cyanosis. He had no fever and he could still move his leg, but his pain could not be evaluated since he was delirious. On examination, his left lower limb exhibited discoloration at his left foot without any ulcer or bleb, moist skin, or pitting edema, and the left dorsalis pedis and posterior tibial pulse could be palpated (1+) but were diminished (). The motor functions remained intact. Doppler ultrasonography was performed and revealed an uncompressible vein along the midsuperior femoral vein to the popliteal vein. His laboratory investigation showed that the leukocytosis and creatinine level rose from 1.04 mg% to 1.62 mg% and creatinine phosphokinase (CPK) was 322 U/L. He was diagnosed with PCD at the left femoral vein. The intervention radiologist attempted a catheter-directed thrombectomy, but it failed because the guider could not pass through the intraluminal clot. The patient was scheduled for emergency operation again for surgical thrombectomy with fasciotomy of the left leg (). The operative finding was a thrombus in the femoral vein that was 10 cm in length (). The compartment pressures before performing the fasciotomy at the anterior, lateral, and superficial posterior compartments were 43 mmHg, 37 mmHg, and 47 mmHg, respectively. The deep posterior compartment pressure was not measured. After the operation, his pain was relieved and the left dorsalis pedis and posterior tibial pulse were normal. He continued on wound dressings and the fasciotomy was closed by split-thickness skin graft. He continued on oral anticoagulant drugs for six months and underwent elective ray amputation at five months after the PCD for a dry gangrenous left big toe.
An 88-year-old man was admitted to our facility with altered mental status, hypotension (blood pressure range: 71-84/47-57 mmHg in the right arm supine position), fever (104oF), and tachycardia (heart rate: 140-150 beats/min) on arrival at the emergency room. Prior to admission, he was on hemodialysis for the past three months for end-stage renal disease secondary to rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis (has a right permacath). He was receiving intermittent heparin flushes along with dialysis to maintain the patency of the extracorporeal circuit. Other significant past medical history included a splenectomy in 2007. Clinical manifestations, imaging tests, and blood cultures suggested septic shock secondary to Streptococcal pneumonia. The patient was started on meropenem and vancomycin. A left internal jugular catheter and arterial line (in the right upper extremity) were placed for fluid resuscitation and blood pressure monitoring, respectively, and the patient was managed per surviving sepsis guidelines. On day three of hospitalization, the patient started to complain about a right-hand pain at the site of the arterial catheter. The physical examination was remarkable for a swollen and cyanotic right upper extremity, especially the second and third fingers (Figure ), with a barely palpable radial pulse compared to the left side. Arterial Doppler of the upper extremities was obtained, with findings indicative of significant right-sided arterial insufficiency. Further evaluation by venous duplex ultrasound identified a massive thrombus in the axillary, brachial, and basilic veins of the right arm with the solely spared ulna vein being hugely engorged (Figures -).\nWe considered the possibility of catheter-induced venous thrombosis, sepsis-associated disseminated intravascular coagulation and heparin-induced thrombocytopenia as working diagnoses. Given the suspicion of heparin-induced thrombocytopenia, we discontinued heparin immediately while the patient’s peripheral smear and coagulation cascade were investigated. Although the patient had low platelets (Table ), prolonged prothrombin time (16 (normal: 11-13 sec)), activated partial thromboplastin time (63 (normal: 25-35 sec)), elevated fibrin degradation products (>40 (normal: <10 mcg/ml)), which were suspicious for sepsis-related disseminated intravascular coagulation; normal factor VII (77 (normal: 50-150%)), high VIII levels (192 (normal: 50-150%)), normal haptoglobin (163 (normal: 36-195 mg/dl)), mildly decreased hemoglobulin (range: 12.1-12.9 (normal:13.5-17.5 g/dl)), and the presence of very few schistiocytes (<0.5%) on a peripheral smear made disseminated intravascular coagulation less likely. Laboratory data were remarkable for a significant drop in the platelet count from 234*109/L (on initiation of hemodialysis) to 44*109/L (the day of hospital admission) over the past three months. Based on the 4T score, heparin-induced thrombocytopenia was highly suspected and argatroban was initiated at 1 mg/kg/min. Vascular surgery consultation was obtained to address the gangrene in the second and third digits of the right upper extremity. However, considering his critically septic situation with multiple morbidities, a decision was made not to proceed with invasive maneuvers. On hospital day four, heparin-platelet factor 4 (PF4) antibodies (1.67 (normal: <0.4), heparin inhibition: >50%), and serotonin release assays returned positive (using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay), confirming heparin-induced thrombocytopenia. On hospital day eight, repeated venous duplex demonstrated normal compressibility and spontaneous flow in the vein of the right upper extremity. The platelet count recovered and no further thrombotic complications were observed. Though we were able to manage the patient’s advanced gangrene with argatroban, his second and third fingers were amputated in the end.