Unilateral pulmonary edema. An unusual cause

Unilateral Left Pulmonary Edema Caused by Contained Rupture of the Ascending Aortic Dissection

Unilateral pulmonary edema (UPE) is a rare entity and is usually associated with severe mitral regurgitation and more frequently occurs in the right lung. We herein report a case of unilateral left pulmonary edema caused by external compression of the right pulmonary artery and left pulmonary vein caused by the presence of hematoma due to type A acute aortic dissection (AAD), resulting in asymmetrically increased inflow and decreased outflow in the left pulmonary circulation. Physicians caring for patients with UPE should be aware that AAD leading to the external compression of the heart may be a possible underlying mechanism.

Pulmonary edema during pregnancy: unilateral presentation is not rare

Information regarding pulmonary edema in obstetric patients is limited, especially its natural history as most cases are from tertiary care centers. The incidence, etiology, and course of pulmonary edema in all obstetric patients at a primary-secondary care center was studied prospectively among 29,621 obstetric cases in the past 3.5 years. Pulmonary edema developed in 18 cases (0.06%) of all obstetric patients that were associated with pre-eclampsia-eclampsia and tocolysis with beta-mimetics. The onset of pulmonary edema was 1-8 days postpartum in 12 patients, 1 day antepartum in 3 patients, and 26-32 gestational weeks in 3 patients. The cause was mainly cardiogenic, and the mean time taken for resolution was 2.2 days. Unilateral pulmonary edema occurred in 4 patients and there was delayed resolution compared with bilateral pulmonary edema because of delayed treatment. Pulmonary edema associated with pregnancy developed in 0.06% of cases, mainly during the peripartum, and resolved rapidly. Unilateral pulmonary edema was not uncommon.

An unusual case of left upper lobe pulmonary edema

This is a report of an unusual case of left, predominantly upper lobe, pulmonary edema secondary to paravalvular mitral regurgitation (MR) complicating mitral valve replacement. Transesophageal echocardiography proved helpful in making the diagnosis of MR and suggesting the mechanism of the pulmonary edema.