Visualization of pulmonary arteriovenous malformation by three dimensional computed tomography: a case report

Spontaneous pneumothorax in a patient with multiple pulmonary arteriovenous malformations caused by hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia: a case report

Spontaneous pneumothorax occurring in patients with pulmonary arteriovenous malformations (PAVMs) caused by hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT) is extremely rare. We report a case of spontaneous pneumothorax in a PAVM patient. A 26-year-old man with previously diagnosed HHT and multiple small PAVMs presented with chest pain and dyspnea and was referred to our hospital. Chest X-ray showed a left-sided pneumothorax. Computed tomography (CT) showed apical bullae on both sides of the upper lobe. We clarified the location of PAVMs by 3D-CT to avoid the massive bleeding caused by careless grasping of PAVMs and unintentional incomplete resection of the PAVMs during the pneumothorax surgery. Considering the risk of exacerbation, the patient underwent bullectomy of the left upper lobe. The postoperative histopathological examination indicated that the pneumothorax occurred spontaneously in the HHT patient. We should clarify the location of PAVMs to avoid bleeding caused by the grasping of PAVMs during surgery.

Brain abscess as the first manifestation of pulmonary arteriovenous malformation: A case report

Pulmonary arteriovenous malformations (PAVM) are rare pulmonary vascular anomalies. Although most patients are asymptomatic, right to left shunt produced by PAVM, could result in easy access of septic or non-septic emboli to systemic circulation, end to serious central nervous system (CNS) complication. Here we report a case of brain abscess in a young man. Its source was initially unknown but multiple arteriovenous malformations were detected incidentally in his thoracic CT, which was performed for ruling out embolism. Although the cases of brain abscesses associated with PAVM are very rare, the brain abscess could be an initial clinical manifestation in asymptomatic PAVM as in the case presented in this report.