Pulmonary Reperfusion Injury After Catheter-Directed Thrombectomy for Acute Pulmonary Embolism

An 82-year-old man had catheter-directed thrombectomy for intermediate-high–risk pulmonary embolism. Shortly after the procedure, the patient developed new alveolar and interstitial infiltrates found on chest computed tomography (CT) as well as life-threatening hemoptysis, likely related to pulmonary reperfusion injury after thrombus removal. Pulmonary reperfusion injury after minimally invasive thrombectomy in acute pulmonary embolism is a rare and life-threatening complication and should be considered in the differential diagnosis of acute pulmonary hemorrhage syndromes.