Severe dyspnea in a patient with neurofibromatosis type 1

Abstract

Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) is a genetic disease in which pulmonary complications are rare, but severe, especially pulmonary hypertension (PH). The mechanisms underlying the onset of PH in patients with NF1 are unclear and might be multifactorial. In particular, the frequent presence of pulmonary parenchymal lesions makes etiological diagnosis of PH difficult. We describe here the case of a patient with NF1 admitted to our clinic with dyspnea and right heart failure revealing severe pre-capillary PH. Parenchymal lesions were mild and PH was attributed to pulmonary vascular involvement. Clinical and hemodynamic conditions of the patient improved under pulmonary arterial hypertension-specific combination therapy. This case suggests that treatment of PH due to pulmonary vascular involvement in NF1 may be aligned with recommendations for PAH treatment.