A rare cause of fatal right heart failure.
Microscopic pulmonary tumor embolism (MPTE) is an uncommon cause of dyspnea in patients with cancer and one of the most difficult to diagnose. MPTE is a syndrome that is pathologically characterized by the occlusion of small pulmonary arteries and arterioles by aggregates of tumor cells. Because the clinical picture resembles that of thromboembolic disease, it is rarely recognized before death. The most common clinical symptom is subacute progressive dyspnea over weeks to months. We recently observed a case of MPTE of exceptional interest as the patient was under aggressive anticoagulant treatment and developed fulminant pulmonary hypertension with fatal right heart failure.
Stucki
Armin
A
Department of Internal Medicine, University Hospital Bern, CH-3010 Bern, Switzerland. armin.stucki@insel.ch
Kruse
Anja
A
Iff
Samuel
S
Stanga
Zeno
Z
Cottagnoud
Philippe
P
Gerber
Peter
P