A Rare Case of Right Atrial Thrombus in a Patient With Recurrent Classical Hodgkin Lymphoma

Patients with cancer are at risk for thrombotic complications due to a hypercoagulable state. However, the benefit of prophylactic anticoagulation is unclear in many subsets of these patients. For the first episode of acute thromboembolic disease (VTE) in patients with active cancer, anticoagulant therapy is administered for at least three to six months. Herein, we present a 31-year-old female with active, recurrent stage IIIa classical Hodgkin lymphoma (CHL) (nodular sclerosis), previously treated for proximal upper extremity deep vein thrombosis (DVT), presenting for evaluation of shortness of breath and eventually diagnosed with bilateral pulmonary embolism (PE) secondary to a right atrial thrombus. The patient was successfully treated with surgical resection of the thrombus. With this case report, we hope to encourage physicians to use prophylactic indefinite anticoagulation in patients with active cancer and previous DVT, including patients with upper extremity DVT.