Peripartum Respiratory Failure with Bilateral Pulmonary Infiltrates on Chest X-Ray

Abstract

Choriocarcinoma is a gestational trophoblastic disease that carries high mortality. As this disease is highly responsive to chemotherapy, early diagnosis could lead to a favorable outcome. We report a case of metastatic pulmonary choriocarcinoma presented with hemoptysis and respiratory failure in a young woman at her third trimester. This report discusses the dilemma in deriving the diagnosis of choriocarcinoma and briefly outlines the current approaches to its treatment. Potentially life-threatening choriocarcinoma should be considered in all unusual chest radiographs of women of childbearing age. Clinicians should be aware of this possibility and proceed with the most appropriate diagnostic procedures.

Disseminated Gestational Trophoblastic Disease and Diffuse Alveolar Hemorrhage Treated With Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation

“…The pathophysiology predisposing to DAH in GTD stems from the unusually prominent vascularity of the underlying malignancy [2][3]. Acute respiratory failure should be anticipated in the setting of GTD metastatic to the lungs (AJCC stage ≥3), with high risk for the development of pulmonary hemorrhage.…”