Pulmonary thromboembolism is a potentially life threatening condition that is uncommonly recognized in cats. Thrombolytic agents have been described as a treatment for this condition in human and canine patients, particularly in cases where hemodynamic instability is persistent despite supportive care. This report describes the clinical course, echocardiographic diagnosis, and successful thrombolysis of a cat with pulmonary thromboembolism. Despite confirmed reperfusion, the cat succumbed to thromboembolic disease highlighting the dearth of knowledge about optimal treatment of this disease process in small animals, particularly in cats.
An elderly patient suffered a cardiac arrest while undergoing repair of a pathological femoral fracture. Intraoperative transoesophageal echocardiography demonstrated massive pulmonary embolism. Pulmonary embolectomy was considered inappropriate in view of her underlying terminal disease, so a decision was made to withdraw all further supportive measures. Despite this, the patient's haemodynamics improved spontaneously.The embolic material was presumed to be bone marrow fat. Fat may traverse the pulmonary circulation; hence the clinical consequences (and management implications) of massive intraoperative pulmonary embolism may vary, depending on the composition of the embolic material. As there are no reliable means of determining the composition of embolic material intraoperatively, the clinical suspicion of fat embolism poses a management dilemma. Should these cases be managed surgically or conservatively?
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