COVID-19 Presenting With a Challenging Combination of Thrombocytopenia and Thrombosis

Abstract

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) causes various hematological abnormalities, leading to several complications in the disease course. We report two COVID-19 cases presenting with a combination of thrombocytopenia and coagulopathy complications in late 2020. A 73-year-old male with a history of immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) presented with acute ischemic stroke and acute thrombocytopenia in the setting of COVID-19. He was managed with steroids and intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) and had a subsequent acute ischemic stroke with microhemorrhages. Another 72-year-old female with a history of cryptogenic liver cirrhosis and chronic thrombocytopenia presenting with acute thrombocytopenia in the setting of COVID-19 was managed with steroids and IVIG. She had a coagulopathic complication of deep venous thrombosis (DVT) later in her disease course managed with inferior vena cava filter and low-dose enoxaparin, but she subsequently died with a bleeding complication of retroperitoneal hemorrhage. Despite the aggressive ongoing research, the treatment options for severe COVID-19 are limited to date and the mortality remains high. Both these cases are examples of challenging situations that the physicians are currently facing with COVID-19 pandemic.

Keywords: COVID-19; Coagulopathy; Thrombocytopenia; Thrombosis.