Treatment of hemopericardium caused by mitral balloon valvuloplasty with activated factor VII: a case report

The use of mitral balloon valvuloplasty as a percutaneous intervention for mitral stenosis has been shown to be efficacious. Cardiac tamponade is a rare but serious complication of this procedure. Despite the low incidence of this event, cardiac tamponade is well-reported in the literature. The management strategy of this complication involves pericardial drainage and correction of coagulopathy, followed by surgical exploration if these interventions fail. With this case report, we demonstrate the successful application of activated factor VII in the management of bleeding after balloon valvuloplasty that persisted despite the standard treatments described above.

Our patient was a 31-year-old Yemenite man with no significant past medical history, who presented with progressively worsening dyspnea on exertion and limited functional capacity over the last few years. A transesophageal echocardiogram revealed severe mitral stenosis, which was treated with a mitral valve valvuloplasty. The procedure was complicated by significant mediastinal bleeding that did not respond to routine maneuvers, which included pericardiocentesis and correction of coagulopathy. Our patient was evaluated for surgical intervention but responded to treatment with activated factor VII.

Factor VII may be used in the treatment of refractory mediastinal bleeding secondary to mitral valvuloplasty prior to attempting surgical repair, and therefore may spare the patient the morbidity associated with surgery.