Bilateral internal jugular vein thrombosis due to malignant tumor

Abstract

BackgroundThe aim of the study was to analyze characteristics of patients with bilateral internal jugular vein thrombosis in our department during a 1-year period.Internal jugular vein thrombosis refers to an intraluminal thrombus occurring anywhere from the intracranial internal jugular vein to the junction of the internal jugular vein and the subclavian vein, which form the brachiocephalic vein. It can occur spontaneously or as a complication of head and neck infections, surgery, central venous lines, local malignancy, polycytemia, hyperhomocysteinemia, neck massage, or intravenous drug abuse. Spontaneous bilateral internal jugular vein thrombosis may occur as a result of a neoplasm, a condition called Trousseau’s syndrome.MethodsThe medical records of four patients with internal jugular vein thrombosis were reviewed for patient clinical characteristics, including age, sex, and other diseases. This is a retrospective study, and we analyzed four patients who had distant malignant tumors.ResultsDuring a 1-year period, four male patients were referred to our department for bilateral internal jugular vein thrombosis. Three of them had lung neoplasm, and one had urinary tract neoplasm. Three patients had thrombosis in the upper arm at the same time, one of them in both arms. Therapy consisted of unfractioned heparin in all patients. The main clinical manifestations were pain and cervical edema. The time between the first clinical manifestation and diagnosis of internal jugular vein thrombosis was 4 days. In the current study, no patient exhibited complications due to internal jugular vein thrombosis.ConclusionsDiagnosing internal jugular vein thrombosis requires a high degree of suspicion. Our study underlines that bilateral internal jugular vein thrombosis is a risk indicator for malignancy. In our literature review of internal jugular vein thrombosis, 85% of patients exhibited unilateral thrombosis, whereas the remaining patients had bilateral thrombosis (15%). The knowledge of predictive factors of internal jugular vein thrombosis seems to be of utmost importance to improve patient management.

Internal jugular vein stenosis associated with elongated styloid process: five case reports and literature review

“…Congenital disorders include aplasia or hypoplasia of IJV. Internal jugular vein thrombosis (IJVT) can occur spontaneously or as a complication of surgical operation, IJVS, head and neck infection, malignant tumor, polycythemia, hyperhomocysteinemia, neck massage or intravenous drug abuse [7, 13, 15]. Extrinsic compression accounts for a large proportion of IJVS.…”

Internal Jugular Vein Thrombosis: Etiology, Symptomatology, Diagnosis and Current Treatment

“…Our results show the most common symptoms of IJVthr include neck pain [ 2 , 3 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 ] and headache (see Table 1 ) [ 12 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 ].…”

“…IJV thrombosis (IJVthr) is a potentially life-threating disease, due to the development of an intraluminal thrombus. The thrombosis can occur at any level, from the jugular foramen to the junction between the IJV and the subclavian vein, constituting the brachiocephalic vein [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]. Serious life-threatening complications have been described following IJVthr, such as pulmonary embolism (PE), lower airway swelling, superior sagittal sinus thrombosis, intracranial hypertension, cerebral oedema, septic emboli, chylothorax, and superior vena cava syndrome [ 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 ].…”

Idiopathic Bilateral Internal Jugular Vein Thrombosis Diagnosed by Point-of-Care Ultrasound

“…Previous studies indicate that it usually occurs in patients with a history of malignancy, oropharyngeal infections, or deep vein thrombosis. 1,2 In this case, the patient's recent oropharyngeal procedure and cessation of apixaban may have led to thrombus formation. IJV thrombosis increases the risk of clot migration and further thrombosis, leading to pulmonary embolism and cerebral vein thrombosis.…”