KAMPALA- In the morning of August 21, then Ugandan Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIGP) Maj. Gen. Paul Lokech succumbed to a blood clot, leaving the country shocked at the loss of one of Uganda’s new generation brave military officers.
According to media reports, a month earlier, a plastic stool on which Maj. Gen. Lokech reportedly stood to access his office uniform tripped, exposing the talented army officer to the floor in which he hit both right leg and head. His head is not much talked about. However, a police report shows that he had a fracture in the right knee.
“The team of pathologists established that the victim got a fracture of the right ankle joint, around the end of July, 2021. It was a simple fracture which was being managed at RUBY Medical Centre, by an Orthopedic Surgeon. They put a POP cast at the victim’s leg and managed him as an outpatient, with regular reviews. They further encouraged him to do mild exercises while at home,” Police spokesman, CP Fred Enanga says.
However, the pain in the right leg started increasing in the last 2-3 days, and the victim notified his Orthopedic Surgeon, who scheduled an appointment for him on the 21.08.2021, at around 8.30am -900am. “Indeed at around 7:54, the victim called the Orthopedic Surgeon to reconfirm their appointment,” Enanga says, adding, “It is unfortunate, that shortly after, the victim started facing breathing problems and called his personal Doctor, Dr. Ben Khiingi, who rushed to the home, but found the victim breathing his last and died.”
An autopsy report shows that during the autopsy, the pathologists opened the right lower leg, which was injured, and found a very big blood clot that had formed in one of the big blood vessels. They further opened his chest and found part of the blood clot had been carried into the lungs. As a result, both vessels in the lungs were blocked, thus leading to the shortage in breath and subsequent death. “It was thus concluded as death due to natural causes,” Enanga says.
What is a Blood Clot?
A blood clot is a gel-like mass formed by platelets and fibrin in the blood to stop bleeding.
A blood clot forms to try to repair damage to a blood vessel, either an artery or vein.
However, when blood clots form inappropriately inside an artery or vein, they may cause significant problems because blood flow past the clot is decreased.
Many risk factors and illnesses that can lead to blood clot formation.
Risk factors of blood clots forming in a vein may include: prolonged mobility (such as a long car or plane rides), smoking, inherited blood-clotting disorders, certain medications, including birth control pills and surgery (orthopedic procedures) among others.
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But doctors we have independently talked to say the situation could have been managed better.
“I think his doctors might have never included blood thinners in his treatment such as Ecorin, thinking his condition was minor,” says a physician who preferred anonymity.
He says that a clot following a fracture may cause death, but this can vary from person to person.
“That the late succumbed to a thrombus which developed following an accident that caused him an ankle fracture (I think this was caused by stumbling at his office, I heard). We deal with people from person to person. No one cloth to fit all,” another doctor familiar with such ailments adds.
“The most probable cause of that clot is that injury. And I am talking as a physician not someone trying to protect the vaccines. The clots from vaccines are so low. In fact the COVID-19 vaccine has the least percentage. But again that ‘soooo low’ can be 100% on that individual,” he adds
Although there are claims that the COVID-19 vaccines have a contributory role to formation of clots in patients,“that we are so many, majority who have completed AstraZenic vaccine didn’t get any clot.”
Symptoms
Symptoms of blood clots depend on their location in the body. Some blood clots produce no symptoms until they rupture or become dislodged and travel through the circulatory system to other sites. Symptoms of blood clots in specific body locations include:
Symptoms of blood clots in the legs (deep vein thrombosis, or DVT) are pain, redness, and swelling.
Symptoms of an arterial blood clot in a limb (leg or arm) include pain, pale color, numbness, loss of feeling, and coolness to the touch.
Symptoms of blood clots in the lung (pulmonary embolus, or PE) include chest pain, shortness of breath, fainting, and rapid pulse and breathing.
Symptoms of a stroke (blood clot in an artery of the brain) include possible loss of speech, vision, profound dizziness, and weakness on one side of the body.
Symptoms of a heart attack (blood clot in a coronary artery) are chest pain, shortness of breath, nausea, indigestion, and sweating. People with diabetes, and the elderly may experience other non-specific symptoms.
Symptoms of mesenteric ischemia (blood clot to an artery that supplies the intestine) include abdominal pain, nausea, bloating, and blood in the stool.
Diagnosis
The diagnosis of a blood clot is suggested by the history and physical examination and is often confirmed with an imaging test. Depending upon the location of the blood clot and its cause, treatment may require surgery, anti-coagulation medications, or a combination of the two.
Prevention
Prevention of blood clots involves attention to the risk factors for vascular disease and includes avoiding smoking and lifelong control of high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes.
Serious and even life-threatening complications may arise from blood clots, and individuals should seek emergency medical care if they believe they may have a blood clot, especially if signs and symptoms of a heart attack or stroke occur.
Part of the text adopted via Google search