Chronic systemic thrombosis of unknown etiology with concurrent essential thrombocythemia and recurrent stroke: A case report

Here, we report a male patient under hypercoagulable state of unproven etiology, who used to present with recurrent thrombotic episodes since young age after he stopped taking anticoagulant. At the age of 73, he was detected to have essential thrombocythemia while grappling with recurrent strokes. On both occasions, he presented with a basilar thrombus. His National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score improved from 18 to 2 on the first occasion and from 17 to 2 sixteen days later on the second occasion. Thrombolysis was done on both occasions, but endovascular therapy was not done on either occasion due to chronicity of the thrombus and remarkably improved NIHSS post-thrombolysis. For patients with recurrent thrombotic events of undetermined etiology, an anticoagulant should be indicated. Repeat thrombolysis can be performed without endovascular therapy within a brief gap of 16 days, even in stroke patients with moderate to high NIHSS.