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Inferior vena cava filter embolization is not uncommon and can reach 11.8%. However, device migration to the heart is not frequent and occurs in cases after inferior vena cava filter fracture. We present the case of a young woman who was submitted to a routine inferior vena cava filter placement three days before and presented with hemodynamic instability. Since the device was not retrievable, the surgical team opted for an open cardiac surgery under cardiopulmonary bypass to remove the inferior vena cava filter and avoid other further complications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article titled "Covid-19 vaccines and thromboembolic complications" discusses the role of platelets in thromboembolic complications associated with COVID-19 vaccines. The authors express gratitude for the points raised in response to their article, which contribute to the understanding and treatment of COVID-19 patients. The article also includes information about the authors and their affiliations. [Extracted from the article]

Background The prevalence of chronic venous disease is high and occurs more frequently in females. According to the clinical, etiological, anatomical, and pathological classification (CEAP) definition, the reticular veins are included in the C1 class and are mainly associated with aesthetic complaints. Several invasive techniques are used for treatment, including mini phlebectomy, laser ablation, and radiofrequency ablation. However, a wide range of sclerosing agents may serve as minimally invasive alternatives, promoting chemical sclerosis of the vein wall. Although this technique is routinely performed around the world, there is no consensus on the most efficacious and safe chemical agent to be used. Methods/design Inclusion criteria are women between 18 and 69 years old with at least 10 cm long reticular veins in the lower limbs, on the outer side of the leg/thigh. Patients with CEAP 2 to 6, or with allergies, pregnancy, performing breastfeeding, or with any dermatologic or clinical problems will be excluded. Patients with venous ultrasound mapping showing involvement of saphenous trunks and/or a deep venous system will also be excluded. Patients will be randomized into two groups, one receiving 75% pure glucose and the other group receiving 0.2% polidocanol diluted in 70% glucose. Just one limb and one session per patient will be performed. The sclerosing agent volume will not exceed 5 mL. Clinical follow-up will include visits on days 7 and 60, always with photographic documentation. Discussion This project aims to enroll 96 patients and subject them to a double-blind treatment after the randomization process. The design is intended to evaluate efficacy through a primary end point and safety through a secondary end point. Forty-eight patients have currently been enrolled. Preliminary results for these patients showed that 25 received treatment, 2 were excluded, and 22 returned after 7 days and showed no greater adverse events. To date, establishing efficacy criteria has not been possible, and no patients have reached the 60-day return point. These data may help doctors choose the best chemical agent for the treatment of reticular veins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As knowledge has accumulated, COVID-19 has come to be considered a disease of the respiratory system that can also cause multisystemic involvement. This study analyzed the prevalence of deep venous thrombosis (DVT) in the lower limbs of patients with COVID-19 by conducting an integrative review of the literature published from 2019 to 2022. The procedures involved in article selection were identification of keywords, definition of the search strategy, consultation of databases, and exclusion of duplicate articles and others that did not meet the review objectives. Exclusion of articles was based on the following exclusion criteria: articles on arterial vascular complications involving the lower limbs, laboratory experiments, cases reports describing venous and arterial complications involving other sites, and articles unrelated to the outcome of interest: DVT. A total of 284 articles were identified, 42 of which were included. There was considerable variability in the prevalence of DVT among patients with COVID-19 (range: 0.43 to 60.87%). The findings suggest that occurrence of DVT in patients with COVID-19 is associated with disease severity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agenesis of the inferior vena cava (IVC) has been described in less than 1% of the population; a rare occurrence caused by embryonic abnormalities. Its correlation with deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is certainly underestimated, since this change is hard to detect using ultrasound. The aim of the article is to report the case of a 41-year-old female patient with pain and edema up to the top of the right thigh after plastic surgery. Bilateral venous duplex ultrasound revealed bilateral DVT involving iliac-femoral-popliteal and distal segments. Venous angiotomography was requested because the IVC was not visible on ultrasound, revealing thrombosis of the right lumbar plexus and iliofemoral segment bilaterally and agenesis of the infrahepatic segment of the inferior vena cava, with ectasia and compensatory tortuosity of paravertebral veins and the azygos-hemiazygos system, and bilateral pelvic varices. Systemic and oral anticoagulation were administered, with a satisfactory clinical response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

True deep femoral artery aneurysms are extremely rare, accounting for about 0.5% of all peripheral aneurysms. In this report, we describe a 79-year-old male patient with a history of prior abdominal aortic aneurysm surgery via a conventional approach who was admitted to the vascular surgery service at the Hospital das Clínicas with intermittent claudication of the lower limbs. Arterial color-Doppler ultrasonography of the right lower limb was performed, revealing peripheral arterial disease of the femoral--popliteal and infrapatellar segments. Computed tomography angiography identified aortoiliac and bifurcated graft occlusion from the infrarenal segment of the aorta, in addition to a deep femoral artery aneurysm with diameters of 3.7 cm x 3.5 cm and length of 7 cm. Resection of the aneurysm was followed by revascularization of the deep femoral artery by interposition of a Dacron graft and reimplantation of the superficial femoral artery into the graft. In cases of deep femoral artery aneurysms with concomitant peripheral arterial disease, it is important to ensure revascularization and adequate perfusion of the lower limb. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Surgical management of patients with abdominal aortic diseases associated with distal narrowing is a challenging situation. Objectives: To evaluate outcomes of unibody bifurcated endovascular stent graft repair. Methods: This is a retrospective, observational, multi-institutional database study of a cohort of consecutive cases, approved by the local Ethics Committee. Records were reviewed of patients diagnosed from 2010 to 2020 with "shaggy" aorta, saccular aneurysm, penetrating aortic ulcer, and isolated aortic dissection located in the infrarenal abdominal aorta. All patients were treated with a unibody bifurcated stent graft. Main outcomes were technical success, procedure complications, long-term patency, and mortality in the follow-up period up to 5 years. Data on demographics, comorbidities, surgical management, and outcomes were analyzed. Results: Twenty-three patients were treated with unibody bifurcated stent graft repair, including 7 cases of "shaggy" aorta, 3 isolated dissections of the abdominal aorta, 4 penetrating aortic ulcers, and 9 saccular aneurysms. Immediate technical success was achieved in 100% of cases. At follow-up, all stent grafts remained patent and there were no limb occlusions. The patients were symptom-free and reported no complications related to the procedure. There were 5 deaths during the follow-up period (median= 4 years), but none were related to the procedure and there were no aorta-related deaths. Conclusions: The present study shows that unibody bifurcated stent grafting is safe and effective in this group of patients with narrow distal abdominal aorta and complex aortic pathology. The results were similar for both infrarenal aortic aneurysms and aorto-iliac atherosclerotic disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The arterioportal fistula (APF) syndrome is a rare and reversible cause of pre-sinusoidal portal hypertension, caused by communication between a visceral artery and the portal venous system. Most patients are asymptomatic, but when they do develop symptoms, these are mainly related to gastrointestinal bleeding, ascites, congestive heart failure, and diarrhea. This therapeutic challenge presents a case of APF caused by a 20-year-old stabbing injury with unfavorable late clinical evolution, including significant malnutrition and severe digestive hemorrhages. The patient was treated using an endovascular procedure to occlude of the fistula. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Aortic cross-clamping and balloon occlusion of the aorta could lead to damage to the aorta wall. Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate changes to the aorta wall related to the method used to interrupt flow (clamping or balloon) in the different techniques available for aortic surgery. Methods: Experiments were performed on 40 female pigs, weighing 25-30kg, which were randomly allocated to 4 study groups: S (n=10), no intervention (sham group); C (n=10), midline transperitoneal laparotomy for infrarenal abdominal aortic access with 60 min of cross-clamping; L (n=10), laparoscopic infrarenal abdominal aortic surgery with 60 min of cross-clamping; EV (n=10), remote proximal aortic control with transfemoral arterial insertion of aortic occlusion balloon catheter, inflated to provide continued aortic occlusion for 60min. After euthanasia, the aortas were removed and cross-sectioned to obtain histological specimens for light microscopic and morphometric analyses. The remaining longitudinal segments were stretched to rupture and mechanical parameters were determined. Results: We observed a reduction in the yield point of the abdominal aorta, decrease in stiffness and in failure load in the aortic cross-clamping groups (C and L) compared with the EV group. Conclusions: Aortic cross-clamping during open or laparoscopic surgery can affect the mechanical properties of the aorta leading to decrease in resistance of the aorta wall, without structural changes in aorta wall histology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a silent and potentially lethal disease that affects a considerable proportion of hospitalized patients. It has high morbidity and mortality and is responsible for a heavy financial burden on healthcare systems. However, VTE can be prevented using prophylaxis measures that have been established in the literature. Nonetheless, in the real world, mean rates of appropriately administered VTE prophylaxis are lower than 50%. Objectives: To define the epidemiological profile of patients with VTE in a University Hospital and the rate of appropriately administered VTE prophylaxis at that service and to identify measures to improve the rate. Methods: A cross-sectional, observational study was conducted with data collected from the medical records of patients who met the inclusion criteria. The rates of correct VTE prophylaxis prescribed to clinical and surgical patients were compared, assessed according to guidelines published by the Brazilian Society of Angiology and Vascular Surgery (SBACV), based on VTE risk classification. Results: The overall rate of correctly-prescribed VTE prophylaxis was 42.1%, while 57.9% of patients were not managed correctly in this respect. Clinical patients had a 52.9% rate of appropriate prophylaxis, while the equivalent rate for surgical patients was 37.5%. Conclusions: Rates of correctly-prescribed VTE prophylaxis are still lower than they should be. Ongoing education, measures to encourage bedside risk stratification, and improvements to the electronic prescription system could increase appropriate VTE prophylaxis rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Superficial venous thrombosis (SVT) or superficial thrombophlebitis is characterized by thrombi within superficial veins, with partial involvement or occlusion of the lumen and inflammatory reaction along the course of the vein. Clinical diagnosis tends to be straightforward, but supplementary tests and examinations are needed to confirm thrombosis extension and possible thromboembolic complications. SVT can be associated with deep venous thrombosis in 6 to 40% of cases, with asymptomatic pulmonary embolism (PE) in 20 to 33%, and with symptomatic PE in 2 to 13%. Despite the morbidity and complications, there are currently no Brazilian guidelines for SVT. These guidelines cover the most important issues related to SVT definition, terminology, and etiology, and set out recommendations for diagnosis and treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heparin induced thrombocytopenia (HIT) is a serious complication of heparin anticoagulation and is associated with formation of anti-platelet factor 4. It usually occurs from the fifth day of treatment onwards, with a fall in platelet count of at least 50%. Venous or arterial thrombosis may occur as a result of concomitant platelet activation, with serious clinical repercussions. We present the case of a patient with antiphospholipid antibody syndrome who presented with acute arterial occlusion and was treated surgically and given unfractionated heparin intraoperatively and postoperatively. On the fifth day of anticoagulant treatment he exhibited a platelet count decreased by more than 50% compared to the count prior to heparin administration. The suspicion of heparin-induced thrombocytopenia and its diagnostic and therapeutic features are addressed in this therapeutic challenge paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]