Thrombosis of the inferior vena cava inpatients with cyanotic congenital heart disease

Seven children with cyanotic congenital heart disease developed thrombosis of theinferior vena cava. Three of the patients developed renal vein thrombosis, and in 2 of them it was fatal. Factors which may have contributed to the development of thrombi in these patients include infection, hypercoagulability, polycythemia, hyperviscosity, hemolysis, venous catheterization, the presence of an indwelling catheter, and surgery. It is emphasized that inferior vena caval thrombosis may be an insidious process leading to lethal thrombosis of renal or adrenal veins. However, in 3 of the patients the diagnosis was made only when an attempt to recatheterize the patient from a venous tributary of the inferior vena cava was unsuccessful.