Deep vein thrombosis after insertion of a central venous catheter: a case report

Abstract

A male patient aged 50 years, presented with a swelling in the right leg which had occurred five days before hospital admission. This was associated with pain in the swollen leg. The patient had a history of femoral double lumen catheter (DLC) insertion for hemodialysis. On physical examination, Wong Baker's scale was 3, Wells' score was 3, and the patient had edematous, red, and warm right lower extremity. Laboratory results showed anemia (Hb 11.4 g/dl), leukocytosis (27.99 x 10³/ul), increased blood urea nitrogen (BUN) (60 mg/dl), increased serum creatinine (9.93 mg/dl), hyperkalemia (6 mmol/l), urine leukocytes +3; 15-20/hpf. Lower extremity ultrasound revealed diffuse deep vein thrombosis (DVT). After the diagnosis of DVT, the patient was treated with fondaparinux injection and warfarin as an anticoagulant for six days. Our results show that treatment was effective in reducing swelling and pain in the right leg, that disappeared after a three months´ treatment.