Intrauterine infarction of a pulmonary segment in a full-term newborn. A case report

Intrauterine pulmonary infarction is extremely rare. In a series of 775 stillborn and newborn infants, only a few cases of acute pulmonary infarction were reported. The authors present the findings from a full-term infant who died at 9 hours of age of a chronic pulmonary infarction. Several pathogenic mechanisms, including the entry of placental thromboplastin into the fetal circulation, are discussed.

Cor pulmonale as a complication of methylmalonic acidemia and homocystinuria (Cbl-C type)

We report an infant with a bronchiolitis-like illness and rapid deterioration who developed a cor pulmonale-like picture with a dilated right ventricle. Urinary organic acid assays established a probable diagnosis of Cbl-C-type methylmalonic aciduria, later confirmed by complementation studies. Despite medical intervention and cyanocobalamin treatment the patient died on his tenth hospital day. Postmortem examination showed the presence of thromboemboli in the pulmonary circulation. We hypothesize that acute cor pulmonale developed in this infant secondary to thromboembolism of his pulmonary circulation. A review of the literature shows that thromboembolism may be a part of this disease process.

[Thrombosis of the pulmonary artery associated with maternal deficiency of antithrombin III]

Authors report a case of newborn with thrombosis of the pulmonary artery, probably caused by a maternal deficit of antithrombin III. Deficit of antithrombin III (AT III) as the possible cause of thrombosis is discussed.