Trauma to Thrombus: A Case Report of Internal Jugular Vein Thrombosis

Abstract

Internal jugular vein (IJV) thrombosis is associated with several etiologies. Trauma is a rarely recorded causative factor. This case presents one such example of how trauma causes IJV thrombosis. A middle-aged woman presented to the general medicine outpatient department with complaints of pain in the base of the left side of the neck and swelling of the left arm and neck for six days. The symptoms had occurred following a trivial trauma to the left side of the neck due to pressure from a 25 L water can. Before the patient came to our hospital, she went to a local clinic, where magnetic resonance imaging was done and showed findings suspicious of thrombosis in her left IJV with extension into adjacent veins. A venous Doppler confirmed the findings. The patient was then treated conservatively with low-molecular-weight heparin, muscle relaxants, and antibiotics. Although uncommon, vascular injuries should also be thought of following minor trauma and not just musculoskeletal events. This case report proposes that IJV thrombosis can also occur without the classical etiological factors.

Keywords: Deep-vein thrombosis; internal jugular vein thrombosis; trauma; upper limb.

Figure 1

Magnetic resonance imaging showing filling defect in the left internal jugular vein