Successful pregnancy outcome with cardiac and severe restrictive lung disease requiring mechanical ventilation: a case report and literature review

The prognosis for pulmonary hypertension as a single entity is poor, but when it is superimposed on the physiological changes of pregnancy, it produces a lethal condition, with maternal mortality rates greater than 50%. We present a successfully managed case followed by a review and discussion of the available literature on this subject. A 24-year-old woman, a primigravida, was mechanically ventilated for severe restrictive lung disease. Her pregnancy required close surveillance of her labile cardiopulmonary status as well as fetal well-being. Her delivery was scheduled for induction at 34 weeks' gestation, but she required an emergency Cesarean section, which was productive of a healthy infant. Her recovery was complicated by recurrent fever. There is limited literature on restrictive lung disease and pulmonary hypertension with regards to their management during pregnancy. Nevertheless, successful pregnancy outcomes may result with careful multidisciplinary management.