Pulmonary arterial hypertension associated with type II Abernethy malformation in an adolescent: a case report

Abstract

The article provides a case of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) associated with congenital extrahepatic portocaval shunt (CEPS), or Abernethy malformation, in a 17-year-old female patient. CEPS, which remained undiagnosed for a long time, manifested with severe encephalopathy at an early age. By the age of 6 years, it was complicated by PAH, and by the age of 9 years — by hepatic focal nodular hyperplasia. In the absence of timely surgical treatment and adequate therapy of CEPS, PAH progressed. Combined dual therapy for PAH, prescribed only at age 14, was ineffective. Despite the potential for clinical and functional improvement documented with combination triple therapy at 17 years of age, the patient continued to meet criteria for a high risk of adverse events, including mortality. Two months after the initiation of triple therapy for PAH, not achieving the target hemodynamic characteristics that would reduce operative and perioperative risks lead to an attempt of surgical treatment of CEPS, which led to the patient death in the early postoperative period. The description of this case report shows the difficulties of diagnosing a rare form of portopulmonary hypertension, the modern possibilities of drug therapy for a severe, potentially curable PAH in the early stages.