Pulmonary embolus

Injury	Disease	Nutrition	Poison

Symptoms	Surgery	Test	Special Topic

Lungs

Pulmonary embolus

Alternative Names:

Venous thrombo-embolism; Lung blood clot; Blood clot - lung; Embolus; Tumor embolus
Treatment:

Emergency treatment and hospitalization are necessary. In cases of severe, life-threatening pulmonary embolism, definitive treatment consists of dissolving the clot with thrombolytic therapy. Anticoagulant therapy prevents the formation of more clots and allows the body to re-absorb the existing clots faster.

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Thrombolytic therapy (clot-dissolving medication) includes streptokinase, urokinase, or t-PA. Anticoagulation therapy (clot-preventing medication) consists of heparin by intravenous infusion initially, then oral warfarin (Coumadin). Subcutaneous low-molecular weight heparin is often substituted for intravenous heparin in many circumstances.

In patients who cannot tolerate anticoagulation therapy, an inferior vena cava filter (IVC filter) may be placed. This device, placed in the main central vein in the abdomen, is designed to block large clots from traveling into the pulmonary vessels. Oxygen therapy may be required to maintain normal oxygen concentrations.

Surgery is sometimes needed in patients at great risk for recurrent embolism.

Expectations (prognosis):

It is difficult to predict how the patient will do in the future. Often, the outlook is related to the disease that puts the person at risk for pulmonary embolism (for example, cancer, major surgery, trauma). In cases of severe pulmonary embolism, where shock and heart failure occur, the death rate may be greater than 50%.

Complications: