title: Postpartum patient with congenital patent ductus arteriosus mimicking acute pulmonary embolism.
abstract: A 25-year-old woman presented with severe dyspnoea at an emergency care unit on her postpartum day 7. Her O2 saturation level was low. Blood tests showed a high blood D-dimer level; echocardiography showed a high pulmonary artery pressure. Initially, heparin was administered for suspicion of pulmonary embolism. After transfer to the intensive care unit, she suffered respiratory failure. A three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction CT angiography then revealed a giant patent ductus arteriosus. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation was performed owing to low O2 saturation after ventilator use. After 1 month, she died of multiple organ failure. In postpartum patients with congenital heart disease, a diagnosis of pulmonary embolism should be immediately confirmed by 3D reconstruction CT angiography to rule out patent ductus arteriosus.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Cardiology Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Tung-Chen
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Yeh
authors.forename: Chun-Peng
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Ching-Jiunn
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Tseng
authors.forename: Jau-Cheng
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Liou
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004374:Ductus Arteriosus, Patent / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000628:therapy; D015199:Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation; D017809:Fatal Outcome; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D049590:Postpartum Period; D011655:Pulmonary Embolism / Q000175:diagnosis; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed