title: Pulmonary tumor embolism: a rare cause of acute right heart failure with elevated D-dimers.
abstract: We report the case of a 49-year-old woman with a prior history of breast cancer who presented with a subacute course of progressive dyspnoea, culminating in cardiovascular collapse from acute right heart failure. D-dimer serum level was elevated. While a computed tomography of the chest was negative for pulmonary embolism, the autopsy study revealed multiple carcinomatous emboli in distal pulmonary arteries, veins, and lymphatics. Pulmonary tumor embolism may be more frequent than previously thought, and could be mistaken for pulmonary thrombo-embolism.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Oncology, Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland. robert.kridel@hcuge.ch
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kridel
authors.forename: Samir
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Myit
authors.forename: Jean-Claude
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Pache
authors.forename: Jean-Michel
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Gaspoz
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000097:blood / Q000556:secondary*; D001344:Autopsy; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004417:Dyspnea / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology; D017809:Fatal Outcome; D005260:Female; D005338:Fibrin Fibrinogen Degradation Products / Q000378:metabolism*; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000097:blood / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000097:blood / Q000556:secondary*; D008205:Lymphangitis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology; D009360:Neoplastic Cells, Circulating / Q000473:pathology*; D011655:Pulmonary Embolism / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications*; D011660:Pulmonary Heart Disease / Q000097:blood / Q000209:etiology*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed
chemical_list: D005338:Fibrin Fibrinogen Degradation Products; C036309:fibrin fragment D