Pulmonary Embolism after Acute Spinal Cord Injury and COVID-19: A Case Report

COVID-19 is known for causing lung problems, but it can also make the blood more likely to clot. People with spinal cord injuries already have a higher risk of blood clots. This case report describes a patient who had both a spinal cord injury and COVID-19 and developed blood clots in his legs and lungs despite being given medication to prevent them. The patient in this report was found to have COVID-19 incidentally and did not have significant respiratory symptoms. He developed extensive blood clots in his legs despite preventative treatment and then developed pulmonary emboli even after starting therapeutic anticoagulation. This case shows that doctors need to be extra careful when screening and treating blood clots in patients who have both a spinal cord injury and COVID-19.

• 1
  The patient developed extensive bilateral lower extremity deep vein thrombosis (DVT) despite chemoprophylaxis.
• 2
  Therapeutic anticoagulation was initiated, yet several days later he developed pleuritic chest pain, and a CT scan revealed bilateral pulmonary emboli.
• 3
  The patient was PCR positive for SARS-CoV-2 virus, both at an outside hospital and at a tertiary hospital, without clinically apparent COVID-19 symptoms.