Primary pulmonary arterial hypertension and autoimmune polyendocrine syndrome in a pediatric patient

Pediatr Cardiol. 2010 Aug;31(6):872-4. doi: 10.1007/s00246-010-9704-y. Epub 2010 Apr 22.

Abstract

Both primary pulmonary artery hypertension (PPAH) and autoimmune polyendocrine syndrome (APS) are rare disorders in children. We report a boy who was diagnosed with severe PPAH at 12 years of age. He was treated with prostacyclin for 6 years, briefly with adjunct bosentan, and eventually sildenafil was added. Six years later, after his diagnosis of PPAH, he developed APS in the form of hyperthyroidism and type 1 diabetes mellitus. No mutations were identified through genetic testing of bone morphogenetic protein receptor type II and the autoimmune-regulator gene. To our knowledge this is the first description of the combination of these two extremely rare diseases in a child.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Diagnosis, Differential
  • Disease Progression
  • Echocardiography
  • Follow-Up Studies
  • Humans
  • Hypertension, Pulmonary / diagnosis
  • Hypertension, Pulmonary / etiology*
  • Hypertension, Pulmonary / physiopathology
  • Male
  • Polyendocrinopathies, Autoimmune / complications*
  • Polyendocrinopathies, Autoimmune / diagnosis
  • Pulmonary Wedge Pressure / physiology
  • Young Adult