Successful treatment of ascending aortic thrombosis associated with coronavirus disease 2019: Case report

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been associated with arterial thrombosis, including aortic thrombus with embolism as well as venous thrombosis. We report a case of a 59-year-old man with COVID-19 showing thrombus in the ascending aorta and occlusion of the lower limb artery on computed tomography. Anticoagulant therapy via continuous intravenous infusion of heparin was started with a therapeutic target range (activated partial thromboplastin time 42–70 s, 1.5–2.5 × patient baseline). The patient was then transferred to warfarin medication and prothrombin time-international normalized ratio was managed at 1.5–2.5. The disappearance of the thrombus was confirmed on the 20th day after starting anticoagulant therapy. Anticoagulant therapy was then discontinued, and computed tomography angiography (CTA) 3 months later showed no recurrence of aortic thrombi or embolism. Anticoagulant therapy alone may be considered for arterial thrombosis in COVID-19 and follow-up CT may allow for early discontinuation of anticoagulant therapy to confirm disappearance of thrombus. LEARNING OBJECTIVE: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is recognized to cause arterial thrombosis as well as venous thrombosis. However, treatment of aortic thrombosis in patients with COVID-19 has not yet been established. Anticoagulants alone may be effective against aortic thrombi in patients with COVID-19 and follow-up computed tomography may allow for early discontinuation of anticoagulant therapy to confirm disappearance of thrombus.