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Case Reports
. 2021 Sep 18;13(9):e18074.
doi: 10.7759/cureus.18074. eCollection 2021 Sep.

Saddle Aortic Embolism Following Recovery From Severe COVID-19 Pneumonia

Saeed S Alqahtani  1 , Saleh M Altowygry  2 , Talal E Alebiwani  2 , Mujtaba E Alsaleh  3 , Atheer A Almajed  3 , Mohammed A Alkhamis  3 , Ahmed A Al Abdullah  3 , Mohammed H Almajed  2 , Mohammed E Alhamaqi  4 , Faisal G Aljuhani  5 , Ali A Alsharit  3 , Malak A Alshammari  6
Affiliations
Case Reports

Saddle Aortic Embolism Following Recovery From Severe COVID-19 Pneumonia

Saeed S Alqahtani et al. Cureus. .

Retraction in

Expression of concern in

Abstract

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a multi-organ disease with a wide range of manifestations. Coagulopathy is one of the well-recognized complications of COVID-19. We report the case of a 42-year-old man who presented with progressively worsening low back pain of two days in duration. The pain was burning in character, non-radiating, and was not related to movement. The patient had a recent history of severe COVID-19 pneumonia requiring mechanical ventilation and has stayed in the intensive care unit for eight days. He was discharged three days before the acute onset of his back pain. Examination of the lumbar spine was unremarkable. However, lower limb examination revealed coldness and absent pulses bilaterally. The patient underwent computed tomography angiography which revealed complete occlusion of the lower abdominal aorta at its bifurcation. Emergency endovascular treatment was performed to aspirate the clot. The symptoms resolved following the procedure and the patient was discharged on the third post-intervention day. Saddle aortic embolism is a rare life-threatening condition that may present solely with low back pain. The case demonstrated a possible complication of COVID-19 that occurred after the recovery from the acute phase of the disease.

Keywords: acute low back pain; case report; coronavirus disease 2019 (covid-19); saddle aortic embolism; saddle embolus.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. CT angiography at the level of the aorta
Computed tomography angiography image demonstrating a filling defect in the infrarenal aorta (arrow).
Figure 2
Figure 2. CT angiography at the level of common iliac arteries
Computed tomography angiography image demonstrating complete opacification of the common iliac arteries bilaterally (arrows).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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