NASA Astronaut’s Blood Clot In Space Gets Treated By Doctor On Earth

Doctor Stephan Moll, a blood-clot expert from the University of North Carolina, helped develop a treatment plan for a NASA astronaut who discovered a blood clot in the jugular vein partway through a long-term mission on the International Space Station. CNET reports: NASA hasn’t revealed the crew member’s name or when the incident happened, though the astronaut discovered the clot two months into a six-month mission while getting a neck ultrasound for a research study. Moll and a NASA medical team chose to treat the clot with blood thinners. The limited on-board supply of medicine required carefully meting out the dose until a fresh cargo shipment arrived from Earth. The astronaut went through about 40 days of injections before switching to an oral pill. The NASA crew member discontinued the pills shortly before returning to Earth and required no follow-up treatment for the clot. Moll co-authored a case study on the clot published in the The New England Journal of Medicine on Thursday.