Charlotte Vanhomwegen, Olivier Taton, Nicolas Selvais, Olivier Vanhove, Dimitri Leduc
BMC pulmonary medicine 2021 Apr 19Platypnea-orthodeoxia syndrome (POS) is a rare condition characterized by dyspnoea (platypnea) and arterial desaturation in the upright position resolved in the supine position (orthodeoxia). Intracardiac shunt, pulmonary ventilation-perfusion mismatch and others intrapulmonary abnormalities are involved. We report a case of POS associated with two pathophysiological issues: one, cardiac POS caused by a patent foramen ovale (PFO) and second, pulmonary POS due to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) interstitial pneumonia. POS has resolved after recovery of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia. Right-to-left interatrial shunt and intrapulmonary shunt caused by SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia contributed to refractory hypoxemia and POS. Therefore, in case of COVID-19 patient with unexplained POS, the existence of PFO must be investigated.
Charlotte Vanhomwegen, Olivier Taton, Nicolas Selvais, Olivier Vanhove, Dimitri Leduc. Patent foramen ovale revealed by COVID-19 pneumonia. BMC pulmonary medicine. 2021 Apr 19;21(1):126
PMID: 33874930
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