Successful treatment of prolonged superior vena cava syndrome with thrombolytic therapy: a case report

Superior vena cava (SVC) syndrome is most commonly due to direct compression of the SVC by a tumor. Recently, there has been an increase in the number of cases of SVC syndrome associated with chronic indwelling central venous catheters. We present a case history of a patient with prolonged symptoms of SVC syndrome that was successfully treated with catheter-directed (intraclot) infusion thrombolytic therapy with urokinase. The treatment, prevention, and incidence of SVC syndrome caused by thrombosis associated with catheters is discussed.