Neurogenic pulmonary edema: successful treatment with IV phentolamine.

Danielle L Davison, Lakhmir S Chawla, Leelie Selassie, Rahul Tevar, Christopher Junker, Michael G Seneff

Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, The George Washington University Medical Center, Washington, DC 20037, USA.

Chest 2012 Mar

filter terms:

Neurogenic pulmonary edema (NPE) is a clinical syndrome characterized by the acute onset of pulmonary edema following a significant CNS insult. The cause is believed to be a surge of catecholamines that results in cardiopulmonary dysfunction. Although there are myriad case reports describing CNS events that are associated with this syndrome, few studies have identified specific treatment modalities. We present a case of NPE caused by an intracranial hemorrhage from a ruptured arteriovenous malformation. We uniquely document a rise and fall of serum catecholamine levels correlating with disease activity and a dramatic clinical response to IV phentolamine.

Citation

Danielle L Davison, Lakhmir S Chawla, Leelie Selassie, Rahul Tevar, Christopher Junker, Michael G Seneff. Neurogenic pulmonary edema: successful treatment with IV phentolamine. Chest. 2012 Mar;141(3):793-5