Background: Peripherally inserted central catheters (PICCs) are becoming increasingly popular due to their ease of insertion through upper extremity veins, although they are not complications-free. PICCs can be irritating and cause endothelial injury and inflammation resulting in venous thrombosis. Estimates suggest that more than a third of all deep venous thrombosis (DVT) in the upper […]

Case Presentation: A 58-year-old-woman with no significant past medical history presented to her primary care physician with bilateral lower extremity edema. She was treated with compression stockings but returned after four months without improvement. She was diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency and referred to a vascular surgeon for a superficial venous ablation, which was ineffective. […]

Case Presentation: An otherwise healthy 36 year-old presented to the emergency room with increasing pain and swelling of her left upper extremity, progressively worsening over the last week. Physical examination showed significantly enlarged left upper extremity with tenderness and erythema. Further evaluation showed presence of left subclavian, internal jugular vein DVT. A CT-angiogram performed for […]

Background: Symptomatic venous thromboembolism (VTE) occurs in about 1% of patients within 3 months after admission to a medicine ward.1,2 The 9th Edition American College of Chest Physicians Guidelines recommends the use of pharmacologic VTE prophylaxis in acutely ill hospitalized medical patients at increased risk of thrombosis and suggests against its use in low risk […]