Pulmonary Embolism in A Patient with Superficial Thrombophlebitis Report of A Case

A 62-year-old woman presented with mild swelling, pain, and exercise intolerance in the right lower limb for nearly a week; chest pain, dyspnea, and palpitation also subsequently bothered her, and then she suffered 2 attacks of syncope, which prompted hospital admission. Acute coronary syndrome was our impression at first, but emergent coronary angiography did not support this diagnosis. An acute pulmonary embolism was then diagnosed based on the clinical presentation, laboratory data, and imaging findings. Duplex scan of the right lower limb revealed diffuse thrombosis of the great saphenous vein from the saphenous-femoral junction to the level of the knee; the thrombosis was incompressible. However, there was no evidence of deep-vein thrombosis. We supposed that superficial thrombophlebitis might have been the possible etiology of her pulmonary embolism, and suggest that pulmonary embolism may be concurrent in patients with varicose veins and superficial thrombophlebitis.