title: The Rapid Initiation, Titration, and Transition from Intravenous to Oral Treprostinil in a Patient with Severe Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension.
abstract: In patients who require urgent initiation of pulmonary arterial hypertension medications due to disease progression, it is customary to start intravenous prostacyclin therapy, typically during a hospital admission. If there are complicating factors or relative contraindications to intravenous and subcutaneous prostanoids, oral treprostinil provides another pathway to prostanoid therapy, but this usually requires a prolonged titration. We describe the case of a thirty-six-year-old male with severe pulmonary arterial hypertension and contraindication to intravenous and subcutaneous prostanoid therapy due to congenital deafness and the risk of not hearing the intravenous pump alarms. Intravenous treprostinil was initiated, titrated to high dose, and then rapidly transitioned to oral treprostinil. A rapid initiation, titration, and transition from intravenous to oral treprostinil can be safely performed under watchful supervision in order to achieve higher and more efficacious doses of oral treprostinil in a timely manner.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Cleveland Clinic Florida, 2950 Cleveland Clinic Boulevard, Weston, FL 33331, USA.
authors.forename: James Benjamin
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Gleason
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Cleveland Clinic Florida, 2950 Cleveland Clinic Boulevard, Weston, FL 33331, USA.
authors.forename: Justin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dolan
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Cleveland Clinic Florida, 2950 Cleveland Clinic Boulevard, Weston, FL 33331, USA.
authors.forename: Pirouz
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Piran
authors.affiliation: Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Cleveland Clinic Florida, 2950 Cleveland Clinic Boulevard, Weston, FL 33331, USA.
authors.forename: Franck Farzad
authors.initials: FF
authors.lastname: Rahaghi