Dialysis catheter-related pulmonary embolism in a patient with paraquat intoxication

A 30-year-old woman was sent to the emergency room after alcohol and paraquat ingestion. After three sessions of hemoperfusion via the indwelling double-lumen catheter, the patient could tolerate ambient air and her urine output was good. However, on the 10th day of hospitalization, she had a sudden onset of dyspnea and hypoxia. Pulmonary embolism was diagnosed by a computed tomography pulmonary angiogram. The patient recovered after anticoagulation therapy. We could find no reports of dyspnea caused by pulmonary embolism in patients with paraquat intoxication. Here, we present this rare case; the indwelling double-lumen catheter might have been a cause of the pulmonary embolism.