COVID-19-Associated Systemic Thromboembolism: A Case Report and Review of the Literature

Mahajan, Pranav; Dass, Bhagwan; Radhakrishnan, Nila; McCullough, Peter A.

INTRODUCTION: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a pandemic that has affected >188 countries, involved >24 million people, and caused >840,000 deaths. COVID-19, in its severe form, presents as acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), shock, and multiorgan failure. Thrombotic microangiopathy of the lungs and kidneys has been observed in these patients. Elevated D-dimer levels have been observed in people with serious COVID-19 illness, and this could be helpful in guiding treatment with anticoagulation in these patients. OBJECTIVE: To analyze the role of anticoagulation as a treatment modality for COVID-19. METHODS: We present the unique case of a COVID-19 patient who developed sepsis, ARDS, acute kidney injury, and deep-vein thrombosis (DVT), who was deteriorating clinically. She was treated with anticoagulation. RESULTS: There was rapid recovery after treatment with systemic anticoagulation. CONCLUSIONS: Systemic anticoagulation could prove to be essential in the treatment of CO­VID-19. Further studies are required to assess its role in improving long-term morbidity and mortality in these patients.