Acute lumbar radiculopathy with weak legs.

BACKGROUND

Inferior vena cava thrombosis is a rare but important cause of acute low back pain and lumbar radiculopathy. Failure to diagnose and treat this condition could result in propagation of the thrombosis, resulting in fatal pulmonary embolism.

CASE REPORT: We report the first known case of inferior vena cava thrombosis in a postpartum woman presenting with acute lumbar radiculopathy and weak legs. She was successfully treated with i.v. heparin and oral anticoagulation.

CONCLUSIONS

Inferior vena cava thrombosis is a rare cause of acute lumbar radiculopathy, but is in the differential diagnosis to consider, especially in those patients at increased risk of thrombosis.