Pulmonary Embolism: A Complication of COVID-19 or Drug Abuse?

Our patient was a young male who had presented to the emergency room with complaints of shortness of breath for three days. His workup was suggestive of a pulmonary embolism. The patient had a history of COVID-19 pneumonia six months prior to this admission, from which he recovered completely. He denied use of recreational marijuana (smoking or edibles initially) but later accepted to smoking marijuana. In fact, he had increased the dose and frequency over the last six months. The COVID-19 infection had a strong impact on his mental health, which pushed him to increase marijuana use. Our case report highlights drug abuse as a risk factor for venous thromboembolism, confounded by the recent COVID-19 infection.