Bleeding events in COVID-19: the other side of the coin?

Monaldi Arch Chest Dis. 2021 Apr 1;91(3). doi: 10.4081/monaldi.2021.1739.

Abstract

We present three cases of patients affected by severe SARS-CoV-2-related pneumonia treated with a low molecular weight heparin for prevention or treatment of pulmonary embolism, who presented a major bleed, in particular an ileopsoas haematoma that caused severe anaemia; in one case it was fatal. In the recent outbreak of novel coronavirus infection, significantly abnormal coagulation parameters in SARS-CoV-2 infection occur very often, but complications in the opposite direction such as bleeding diathesis are very rare. In these cases, there are different levels of gravity: for one patient the major bleed required the anticoagulant therapy to be stopped until bleeding stabilized, one patient needed interventional radiology and one patient died.

MeSH terms

  • Anticoagulants
  • Blood Coagulation Disorders*
  • COVID-19*
  • Humans
  • Pulmonary Embolism* / diagnostic imaging
  • Pulmonary Embolism* / drug therapy
  • Pulmonary Embolism* / epidemiology
  • SARS-CoV-2

Substances

  • Anticoagulants