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[Platypnea-orthodeoxia syndrome secondary to pneumonia: Two cases]
X Boulu1, J D Karam1, A Dernoncourt1
1Service de médecine interne et RECIF, centre hospitalier universitaire d'Amiens, 80054 Amiens, France.
Introduction:
The platypnea-orthodeoxia syndrome is a rare situation characterized by the appearance of dyspnea and/or hypoxemia during the transition to orthostatism.
Observations:
We report the case of two patients, who presented with a platypnea-orthodeoxia syndrome following pneumocystis pneumonia and COVID-19, revealing an intracardiac communication with a right-left shunt on contrast ultrasound.
Conclusion:
This syndrome can be detected easily at the bedside with positional maneuvers and the shunt demonstrated by a hyperoxia test. Non-reversible situations may require correction of the anatomical anomaly by transcatheter intervention or surgery.
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