Major thrombo-embolic complications in abdominal and lower limb arteries in COVID19 patients: a case series.

BACKGROUND: the outbreak of acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has resulted in more than 150000 infected individuals and more than 20000 deaths in Italy. Viral acute pneumonitis is the major cause of morbidity and mortality, but there is increasing evidence that COVID-19 patients show a variable degree of vascular complications, due to a possible hypercoagulability status. OBJECTIVE: to report thrombotic events in abdominal and lower-limb arteries of COVID-19 patients (abdominal aorta, superior mesenteric artery, femoral arteries, cardiac, spleen and kidney). METHODS: we retrospectively reviewed our clinical records of patients with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection, admitted from March 1st to April 6th, 2020, to a tertiary care center in Brescia, Italy. We selected five patients with major arterial thrombo-embolic manifestations. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: In our opinion, arterial thrombotic events may be more common in COVID-19 patients than in general population, possibly resulting in rapid worsening of patient conditions.