Oishi Sikdar, Mahesh Nanjundappa, Aaron Bell, Matthew Jones and Anne Greenough
King’s College London. Evelina Children’s Hospital.
United Kingdom
Case Reports in Perinatal Medicine
Case Rep Perinat Med 2025; 14:
DOI: 10.1515/crpm-2024-0038
Abstract
Objectives: To highlight the importance of serial echocardiography in preterm infants with bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) to diagnose recurrent pulmonary vein stenosis (PVS) and understand its contribution to respiratory deteriorations.
Case presentation: A preterm female infant born at 23+5 weeks gestation had numerous complications related to extreme prematurity, including BPD. She was diagnosed with PVS on echocardiogram after experiencing recurrent respiratory deteriorations and pulmonary hypertensive crises. Initial management involved transcutaneous balloon dilatation. A serial echocardiographic programme was implemented, with weekly monitoring of PVS. She suffered multiple respiratory deteriorations secondary to recurrence of PVS, necessitating repeat cardiac catheterisations and transcatheter stenting. Systemic macrolide therapy with sirolimus was used as adjunctive therapy.
Conclusions: Extremely prematurely born infants who develop BPD are at higher risk of recurrent PVS. We demonstrate that serial echocardiographic monitoring facilitates early diagnosis and prompt intervention of PVS. Any respiratory deterioration in such infants should be assessed by an echocardiogram.
Category
Segmental Pulmonary Venous Disease. Without a Focus on Pulmonary Hypertension
Diagnostic Testing for Pulmonary Vascular Disease. Non-invasive Testing
Age Focus: Pediatric Pulmonary Vascular Disease
Fresh or Filed Publication: Fresh (PHresh). Less than 1-2 years since publication
Article Access
Free PDF File or Full Text Article Available Through PubMed or DOI: Yes