Coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) is a worldwide pandemic with significant morbidity and mortality. Patients with severe forms of the disease are usually managed in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), where they can develop secondary infections particularly bacterial, favored by prolonged intubation and central venous catheterization (CVC), hence increasing the disease’s mortality. Infectious endocarditis (IE) represents a rare and severe cardiovascular complication in patients with CVC. We report the case of a patient admitted to the ICU for an acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) due to COVID19. Her management included intubation and mechanical ventilation, CVC and treatment with Hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin, and echocardiography findings were unremarkable. On the 10th day of onset, the patient developed septic shock and both echocardiography and blood cultures were in favor of A positive diagnosis of tricuspid valve infective endocarditis, accordingly to the modified Duke criteria. Specific treatment was started with a good clinical evolution. Our case outlines the difficulty of management of bacterial co-infections and superinfections in COVID-19 ICU patients, and particularly rare infections such as right-heart IE, which usually require a multidisciplinary approach and coordination between intensivits, cardiologists and infectiologists.
Background
Myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) such as polycythemia Vera (PV) and Essential Thrombocythemia (ET) can be associated with a high risk of both venous and arterial thrombosis. However, the co-existence between these two complications is very rare and has never been described before, especially in young adults with no known history of MPNs.
Case presentation
We report the case of a 39 year-old Caucasian Moroccan male patient without cardiovascular risk factors (CVRF), who presented with acute chest pain. He also suffered from a severe headache since 2 weeks. Electrocardiogram (ECG) showed ST segment elevation myocardial infarction in the posterolateral leads. Cerebral Computed Tomography (CT) scan revealed subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), and cerebral Magnetic Resonance Angiography (MRA) found a Superior Sagittal Sinus Thrombosis (SSST). Routine blood tests showed raised hemoglobin and hematocrit in addition to leukocytosis and thrombocythemia. His coronary angiography revealed a thrombus in the ostial left circumflex artery (LCX). Further testing revealed positive Janus kinase 2 (JAK2) V617F mutation and low erythropoietin level, confirming the diagnosis of PV according to the 2008 World Health Organization (WHO) criteria. Antithrombotic and anti-ischemic treatments, in addition to myelosuppressive therapy with hydroxyurea, were initiated with a good clinical and biological evolution.
Conclusion
This case shows that MPNs are an important cause of thrombosis, especially in young patients with no other risk factors. Early diagnosis and appropriate management are fundamental before the occurrence of life-threatening complications that can sometimes present in unusual forms associating arterial and venous thrombotic events.
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