Giant blood clot in the shape of the lung’s branched airway

A 36-year-old man was being treated for a serious heart condition, according to a new report of the case, published Nov. 29 in The New England Journal of Medicine.

His condition was so severe that doctors put him on a machine called a ventricular assist device, which helps the heart pump blood. Because these machines can also increase the risk of blood clots, he was prescribed a blood-thinner medication.

However, these medications also increase the risk of bleeding, including coughing up blood. Indeed, the patient had several coughing episodes in which he expelled small amounts of blood, according to the report. But then, during an “extreme bout of coughing,” the patient spit out an “intact cast” of the right bronchial tree. In other words, it was a mold (cast) made of clotted blood in the shape of the lung’s  branched airway passages known as bronchi.  

During an “extreme bout of coughing,” the patient spit out an “intact cast” of the right bronchial tree. In other words, it was a mold (cast) made of clotted blood in the shape of the lung’s branched airway passages known as bronchi.

Even though the man had no further episodes of coughing up blood, he unfortunately died a week later from complications of heart failure.

Source: https://www.livescience.com/64259-giant-lung-shaped-blood-clot.html