CHRONIC MASSIVE PULMONARY ARTERY THROMBOSIS

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Abstract
Chronic thrombosis of the main pulmonary artery or of the right or left main branches is a rare finding. A total of 11, 511 consecutive autopsies from the Queens Hospital Center, a municipal institution in Jamaica, New York City were reviewed. This covered a period from late 1935 through 1954. Twenty one cases of massive pulmonary artery thrombosis were found, an incidence of 0.18%. The ages of the cases varied from 15 months to 89 years. Both right and left main pulmonary arteries were involved in 8 cases; the right main pulmonary artery alone in 9, and the left alone in 4. Six of the cases were fairly definitely secondary to previous pulmonary embolization. In several of the remaining 15 cases, the thrombus formation probably occurred in the pulmonary artery without previous embolization. Fifteen of the cases had associated chronic pulmonary disease. In all cases of unilateral thrombosis, chronic pulmonary disease, if present, was on the same side.