American Society of Hirudotherapy

PROS1 (Cys228Tyr) missense mutation associated with mesenteric and pulmonary venous thromboembolism during the COVID-19 pandemic: a case report

Research article published in Frontiers in cardiovascular medicine (2025)

Last Updated: June 18, 2026Reviewed by: ASH Editorial Board
Research article — evidence reviewArticle reference
Evidence: Case reportClinical TrialsHuang et al. · Frontiers in cardiovascular medicine, 2025

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is influenced by both genetic and acquired risk factors, with protein S (PS) deficiency recognized as a well-established inherited thrombophilia. Introduction: We report the case of a 32-year-old male patient presenting with mesenteric venous thrombosis and pulmonary embolism caused by a missense mutation in PROS1 during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: The patient presented with pleuritic chest pain and low-grade fever 15 days after a confirmed COVID-19 infection. Despite initial treatment with glucocorticoids and a macrolide antibiotic, his symptoms worsened and his D-dimer level increased. CT pulmonary angiography confirmed an acute pulmonary embolism. RESULTS: Clinical history revealed a prior episode of mesenteric vein thrombosis and multiple acquired risk factors, including obesity, sedentariness, COVID-19 infection, glucocorticoid treatment, inflammatory response (elevated CRP and serum ferritin levels), and metabolic abnormalities (non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, hyperuricemia, and hyperlipidemia). Laboratory testing showed decreased PS activity, and genetic sequencing identified a heterozygous missense mutation in PROS1, c.683G>A (p.Cys228Tyr). The patient was treated with low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH) followed by rivaroxaban. Discussion: No recurrence of VTE of bleeding events was observed during a one-year follow-up, suggesting effective management of thrombosis in the context of both inherited and acquired prothrombotic conditions.

Abstract sourced from PubMed (NCBI) for the cited record. See the original publication for the authoritative version.

Publication typeCase ReportsJournal Article

Summary

Peer-reviewed clinical and outcomes research relevant to medicinal leech therapy and its biology. Indexed in PubMed and verified against the NCBI record.

Why This Matters for Hirudotherapy

This single case report describes a 32-year-old man who developed mesenteric venous thrombosis and pulmonary embolism linked to a heterozygous PROS1 (Cys228Tyr) missense mutation causing protein S deficiency, against a backdrop of COVID-19 and multiple acquired risk factors; he was managed with low-molecular-weight heparin then rivaroxaban with no recurrence over one year of follow-up. For ASH, the value is contextual rather than direct: it illustrates the inherited and acquired hypercoagulable states that define venous thromboembolism, the clinical territory in which the medicinal-leech anticoagulant tradition originates, since hirudin (the leech's salivary thrombin inhibitor) is the historical prototype that seeded modern direct anticoagulant drug discovery. The honest caveat is twofold: this is a single case report (the weakest evidence tier, hypothesis-generating only, not generalizable), and it studies conventional pharmacologic anticoagulants with no leech therapy or leech-derived agent involved, so it should be read only as background on the thrombosis problem space.

Citation

PROS1 (Cys228Tyr) missense mutation associated with mesenteric and pulmonary venous thromboembolism during the COVID-19 pandemic: a case report.

Huang et al. · Frontiers in cardiovascular medicine, 2025

Added to ASH library: May 29, 2026 · Site last updated: June 18, 2026

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