NASA astronaut got a blood clot in space — then doctors on Earth got a call to fix it
When people on Earth face a medical emergency, they know they have to visit a hospital or call a doctor. But what would one do in the space, where there are no medical professionals or hospitals? A NASA astronaut found himself in a similar situation when he got a blood clot - the first anyone ever got on a space mission. A study published in The New England Journal of Medicine detailed the process of how a doctor on earth treated a deep vein thrombosis (DVT) or blood clot in the jugular vein of an astronaut. This event raises important questions about the medical facilities at astronauts’ disposal. How such issues are handled onboard the International Space Station was a mystery before this incident.
Halfway through a long-term mission on the ISS, a NASA astronaut developed a blood clot in his jugular vein. As the situation was tricky, a surprise move was made when the space agency called up a blood-clot expert from the University of North Carolina, Stephan Moll, to develop a treatment plan. The details of the crew member who got the clot and when it happened have not been revealed yet by NASA. The astronaut received the clot diagnosis when he was getting an ultrasound for a research study just two months into his six-month mission.
Had it been a regular medical case, doctors at NASA would have dealt with it by referring to past occurrences, but this was a unique situation. There had never been a medical treatment for a blood clot in space. "Knowing there are no emergency rooms in space, we had to weigh our options very carefully," Moll said, according to a statement issued by UNC Health. “NASA told me they couldn’t get me up to space quickly enough, so I proceeded with the evaluation and treatment process from here in Chapel Hill,” Moll added. He worked with a NASA medical team and decided to treat the clot with blood thinners.
Administering the medicine had to be carefully planned as there was only a limited onboard supply of the medicine. The staff had to carefully measure the dose until a new cargo shipment arrived from Earth. The astronaut was given around 40 days of injections before the medication was changed to oral pills. The crew member discontinued the intake of the pills a little before returning to Earth and did not need any follow-up treatment for the clot. This medical emergency was combined into a case study by Moll, which can aid practitioners in similar situations in the future.
The case study provides insights into the issues that astronauts face in terms of their health in space. It focuses on the issues with the blood flow of astronauts during long-duration space missions. The astronaut was otherwise healthy and so the report describes the jugular clot as "a newly discovered risk associated with spaceflight." Moll and NASA scientists have also taken steps to carry out thorough research into blood clots in space, including treatments and potential preventative measures. This would be helpful as there is no established method of treatment for DVT in zero gravity.
"How do you minimize risk for DVT? Should there be more medications for it kept on the ISS? All of these questions need answering, especially with the plan that astronauts will embark on longer missions to the moon and Mars," Moll commented. The need for a better solution arose because the treatment given to the astronaut can cause internal bleeding if an injury occurs. These concerns prompted Moll to continue his work with NASA to resolve such issues.
