Case of Pulmonary Embolism

A65-year-old man was admitted with a pulmonary embolism. He complained of progressive exertional dyspnea followed by thrombophlebitis of his left lower limb for several weeks before admission. Venography showed multiple thrombi in the varicose left small saphenous vein. A pulmonary perfusion scintigram revealed multiple perfusion defects in both lungs; the ventilation scintigram was normal. The patient was placed on heparin 20 000 …