A Case of Internal Carotid Artery Thrombosis associated with Thalidomide Administration in Multiple Myeloma

Thalidomide is an effective chemotherapeutic agent used to achieve remission in multiple myeloma. However, its administration is associated with several adverse effects including venous thromboembolism, while arterial thrombosis has also, although rarely, been described in the literature. We report a case of internal carotid artery occlusion within 1 week of starting thalidomide with prophylactic low molecular weight heparin in a patient who had no other prothrombotic risk factors. It is not known why this complication occurs despite the administration of anticoagulant prophylaxis. The role of factor VIII, von Willebrand factor antigen levels and fibrinogen in multiple myeloma patients should be studied in order to determine if these factors should be targeted in future prophylactic treatment.

The European Journal of Case Reports in Internal Medicine – The First Two Years

The European Journal of Case Reports in Internal Medicine (EJCRIM) is just over two years old. To date 400 reports have been submitted and just under half have been accepted for publication. In order to keep costs down our initial policy was to charge a small fee for all submissions, and a further small publication fee for papers that were accepted. However, we have now abolished the submission charge and replaced it with a single, slightly increased, publication charge for all accepted papers.