Two pulmonary emboli in a psych pod

Abstract

Background A female patient known to have schizoaffective disorder self‐presented to an emergency department in a state of acute agitation and paranoia shortly after a 35‐day inpatient stay at a psychiatric facility. Case report The patient exhibited no signs or complaints of dyspnea or hypoxia, but later collapsed and became hypoxic after sleeping comfortably with sedation for 12 h in the psychiatric unit. She was intubated and a computed tomography angiogram revealed bilateral lobar pulmonary emboli and right heart strain. Conclusion Psychiatric hospitalizations, medications, diagnoses and relevant sequelae increase venous thromboembolism risk more than many realize.

Catatonia-Induced Saddle Pulmonary Embolism

“…A case by King et al involved a 44-year-old female patient with schizoaffective disorder who suffered from bilateral pulmonary emboli and right heart strain due to sedation and previous psychiatric hospitalization. In fact, this case report recommends screening and assessments for sedentary psychiatric patients [ 9 ]. Furthermore, the study by Warriach et al, demonstrates that patients with catatonia secondary to schizophrenia can continue electroconvulsive therapy while on anticoagulants depending on the size and the location of their thromboemboli without complications of bleeding [ 10 ].…”