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Updated: May 2, 2026

Image Acquisition Method for the Sonographic Assessment of the Inferior Vena Cava
Published on: January 13, 2023
Pediatric child abuse victim with posttraumatic inferior vena cava thrombosis
Meggan L Goodpasture1, Kristen A Zeller, John K Petty
1Department of Pediatrics, Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, 1 Medical Center Boulevard, Winston-Salem, NC, 27157, USA, mgoodpas@wakehealth.edu.
Abstract:
Posttraumatic inferior vena cava thrombosis (IVCT) is very rare, with only a few cases reported in the literature. While thromboembolism as a result of trauma is common in adult patients, it is very rare in young children and seldom involves the inferior vena cava. We report the youngest patient to date with IVCT and the only child reported whose findings are the result of child physical abuse. The diagnosis can be challenging both clinically and radiographically. Additionally, the risks of morbidity and even mortality associated with an IVCT if untreated are significant.
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