Spontaneous Internal Jugular Vein Thrombosis Complicating Chronic Pulmonary Disease
Nir Hilzenrat, Edit Liberty, Luna Avnon
Depts. of Medicine B and E, and Pulmonary Disease Unit, Soroka Medical Center, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheba
Spontaneous internal jugular thrombosis is a rare vascular disorder. It usually occurs as a result of external pressure due to a tumor, infection or as a result of damage to the vessel wall after trauma or central venous catheterization. We report a 35-year-old woman who suffered from severe pulmonary hypertension due to chronic cystic lung disease. She was admitted due to sudden, severe, right-sided neck pain. Internal jugular occlusion by a thrombus was demonstrated by ultrasound and CT-scans but no apparent cause was found. We postulated that the important factors in the development of her thrombosis were stasis due to pulmonary hypertension and high blood viscosity.