Doctors report an uptick in a surprising coronavirus complication in ICU patients: dangerous blood clots.
It's unknown whether the coronavirus itself causes blood clots or whether the body's massive inflammatory response to fight the virus is what damages blood vessels and blood cells.
"As soon as you put the cannulas in and you turn the machine on, there's clotting," Cassiere said."That is very, very surprising." "I'm thoroughly surprised that we're not seeing a lot of bleeding, which is a little scary," Cassiere said."In the back of my mind, I'm thinking, maybe the usual anticoagulation isn't enough."
Another clue that COVID-19 is causing chaos in the blood system comes from a study published in the journalin March, which showed that the virus infiltrates the body by binding to a type of receptor on cells called ACE2.
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