Symptomatic aortic thrombosis in a preterm neonate

Abstract

Symptomatic aortic thrombosis is a devastating condition in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), which is now increasingly being diagnosed with the availability of bedside ultrasound. Early intervention can go a long way towards preventing adverse outcomes. In our case, a preterm, very low birth weight, growth-restricted baby developed aortic thrombosis with hypertensive emergency and later limb-threatening ischaemia, which usually requires thrombolysis. However, due to the parents’ reservations, he was given only therapeutic anticoagulation (with closely monitored activated partial thromboplastin time targets), which resulted in complete thrombus resolution. A multidisciplinary team approach was followed, and early detection with frequent monitoring led us to a favourable outcome.