Upper extremity deep vein thromboses, while uncommon, can occur in athletes due to exertion and must be considered in the differential diagnosis for extremity pain and swelling.
Clinicians should consider exertion-related upper extremity DVT in athletes with limb symptoms; single case leaves optimal management open.
This report describes a case of a collegiate baseball player who presented with 3 weeks of worsening right shoulder pain and mild swelling and faint discoloration of the right arm and hand. He was found to have a nonocclusive clot on his brachial vein and was treated with anticoagulants. This was his second lifetime thrombosis. A hematologic workup revealed no evidence of a hereditary origin, and thrombosis was believed to be related to recent exertion (baseball throwing). Upper extremity deep vein thromboses are extremely uncommon. However, because they can have potentially life-threatening consequences, deep vein thromboses must be on the differential for any athlete who presents with increased pain, swelling, or discoloration of an extremity.
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Jackson et al. (2014) studied this question.
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