Bronchial Asthma With Scimitar Syndrome: A Case Report

Scimitar syndrome is a rare congenital cardiopulmonary anomaly; it is also called venolobar syndrome, hypogenic lung syndrome, and Halasz syndrome. The syndrome is characterized by cardiac dextroposition, right lung and pulmonary artery hypoplasia as well as complete or partial anomalous pulmonary venous drainage of the right lung. We report a case of a 22-month-old full-term male child with a severe form of scimitar syndrome diagnosed at birth. The X-ray demonstrated dextrocardia and right lung hypoplasia, while the echocardiography clearly illustrated the scimitar vein. The patient had multiple ER visits and hospitalizations due to asthma exacerbation that was aggravated by recurrent respiratory tract infections; he responded well to asthma medications during his admissions yet compliance to his prophylactic asthma medications was poor at home.

Infantile Scimitar Syndrome With Contralateral Pulmonary Vein Stenosis and Refractory Pulmonary Hypertension

Infantile scimitar syndrome is associated with pulmonary hypertension which can be difficult to manage. We present a three-month-old infant with scimitar syndrome, who eventually developed refractory pulmonary hypertension, posing a significant management challenge. Further workup demonstrated contralateral pulmonary vein stenosis, which is rarely described in scimitar syndrome. Our index case highlights the importance of follow-up cardiac catheterizations in these patients with severe pulmonary hypertension.