We experienced a case of acute postpartum cardiomyopathy after cesarean section. A twin-pregnant woman at 36 weeks gestation showed pregnancy-induced hypertension. After an emergency cesarean section, shortness of breath, paroxysmal dyspnea, hypertension, and tachycardia developed in the recovery room. She was diagnosed with acute peripartum cardiomyopathy.
Cardiomyopathies ; Cesarean Section ; Dyspnea ; Dyspnea, Paroxysmal ; Emergencies ; Female ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Hypertension, Pregnancy-Induced ; Peripartum Period ; Postpartum Period ; Pregnancy ; Recovery Room ; Tachycardia

We experienced a case of acute postpartum cardiomyopathy after cesarean section. A twin-pregnant woman at 36 weeks gestation showed pregnancy-induced hypertension. After an emergency cesarean section, shortness of breath, paroxysmal dyspnea, hypertension, and tachycardia developed in the recovery room. She was diagnosed with acute peripartum cardiomyopathy.
Cardiomyopathies ; Cesarean Section ; Dyspnea ; Dyspnea, Paroxysmal ; Emergencies ; Female ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Hypertension, Pregnancy-Induced ; Peripartum Period ; Postpartum Period ; Pregnancy ; Recovery Room ; Tachycardia

Diagnosis, Differential ; Dyspnea, Paroxysmal ; etiology ; physiopathology ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Male ; Meningocele ; complications ; diagnosis ; diagnostic imaging ; physiopathology ; Nasopharynx ; abnormalities ; diagnostic imaging ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

A man aged 78 yr with no history of chemotherapy or toxic exposure presented with a history of dyspnea and intermittent red urine for 3 months and several years, respectively. Hematologic data at admission were as follows: hemoglobin, 65 g/L; white blood cell count, 4.05x109/L; platelet count, 96x109/L; and reticulocyte count, 10.9%. A peripheral blood smear revealed polychromasia, nucleated red blood cells, and neutrophils with a non-lobulated nucleus. The bone marrow was hypercellular and exhibited an increase in erythroid precursors with trilineage dysplasia and our findings were suggestive of refractory cytopenia with multilineage dysplasia (RCMD). Karyotype of bone marrow cells was as follows: 45,XY,der(9;17)(p10;q10),add(18)(q11.2)[10]/45,idem,del(3)(q21)[10]. Other laboratory findings showed decreased serum haptoglobin, increased lactate dehydrogenase, and increased indirect bilirubin levels. Moreover, results of the direct/indirect antiglobulin test (Coombs' test) and paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria analysis with CD55, CD59, fluorescent aerolysin (FLAER), and CD24 were negative. Cold agglutinin and Donath-Landsteiner antibodies were not detected. This is a case of myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) associated with hemolytic anemia and complex chromosomal abnormalities at presentation.
Anemia, Hemolytic* ; Antibodies ; Bilirubin ; Bone Marrow ; Bone Marrow Cells ; Chromosome Aberrations ; Coombs Test ; Drug Therapy ; Dyspnea ; Erythrocytes ; Haptoglobins ; Hemoglobinuria, Paroxysmal ; Karyotype ; L-Lactate Dehydrogenase ; Leukocyte Count ; Myelodysplastic Syndromes* ; Neutrophils ; Platelet Count ; Reticulocyte Count

PURPOSE: To report a case of bilateral optic disc edema associated with hemolytic anemia and paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH). METHODS: A 51-year-old woman visited our ophthalmologic clinic complaining of metamorphopsia. Twenty eight years ago, she had been diagnosed with PNH and hemolytic anemia and had received blood transfusion on an irregular basis. The best corrected visual acuity was initially 0.5 in the right eye and 1.0 in the left eye. Light reflex was intact and no afferent pupillary defect was found. Fundus examination revealed severe optic disc swellings with indistinct margins in both eyes. Papillary and peripapillary retinal hemorrhages were also present. RESULTS: A visual field test revealed the enlarged physiologic scotoma in both eyes. Fluorescein angiograms showed hyperfluorescence of the optic disc and blocked fluorescence due to the papillary hemorrhages. Optical coherence tomograms of the optic disc showed the loss of physiologic disc cupping and severe elevation. There was no evidence of an intracranial lesion upon brain magnetic resonance imaging. These findings were compatible with optic disc edema associated with anemia and the management was oriented towards the anemia. At the 2-months follow-up, the best corrected visual acuity of both eyes had improved to 1.0 and optic disc edema markedly decreased. However, the patient's overall physical condition deteriorated and she expired due to dyspnea and hepatic coma.
Anemia* ; Anemia, Hemolytic ; Blood Transfusion ; Brain ; Dyspnea ; Edema ; Female ; Fluorescein ; Fluorescence ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hemoglobinuria, Paroxysmal* ; Hemorrhage ; Hepatic Encephalopathy ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Middle Aged ; Papilledema* ; Pupil Disorders ; Reflex ; Retinal Hemorrhage ; Scotoma ; Vision Disorders ; Visual Acuity ; Visual Field Tests

Paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) is a progressive, systemic, life-threatening disease, characterized by chronic uncontrolled complement activation. A retrospective analysis of 301 Korean PNH patients who had not received eculizumab was performed to systematically identify the clinical symptoms and signs predictive of mortality. PNH patients with hemolysis (lactate dehydrogenase [LDH] > or = 1.5 x the upper limit of normal [ULN]) have a 4.8-fold higher mortality rate compared with the age- and sex-matched general population (P < 0.001). In contrast, patients with LDH < 1.5 x ULN have a similar mortality rate as the general population (P = 0.824). Thromboembolism (TE) (odds ratio [OR] 7.11; 95% confidence interval [CI] (3.052-16.562), renal impairment (OR, 2.953; 95% CI, 1.116-7.818) and PNH-cytopenia (OR, 2.547; 95% CI, 1.159-5.597) are independent risk factors for mortality, with mortality rates 14-fold (P < 0.001), 8-fold (P < 0.001), and 6.2-fold (P < 0.001) greater than that of the age- and sex-matched general population, respectively. The combination of hemolysis and 1 or more of the clinical symptoms such as abdominal pain, chest pain, or dyspnea, resulted in a much greater increased mortality rate when compared with patients with just the individual symptom alone or just hemolysis. Early identification of risk factors related to mortality is crucial for the management of PNH. This trial was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as NCT01224483.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Antibodies, Monoclonal/therapeutic use ; Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized/therapeutic use ; Area Under Curve ; Child ; Dyspnea/etiology ; Female ; Hemoglobinuria, Paroxysmal/*diagnosis/drug therapy/mortality ; Hemolysis ; Humans ; Kaplan-Meier Estimate ; Kidney Diseases/complications/diagnosis ; L-Lactate Dehydrogenase/metabolism ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Odds Ratio ; ROC Curve ; Registries ; Republic of Korea ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Thromboembolism/complications/diagnosis ; Young Adult