Fatal hemoptysis in Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. Old malady with a new curse.

Abstract

We describe the case of a 27-year-old man with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, type IV. The patient had recurrent and eventually fatal pulmonary hemorrhage. Type IV Ehlers-Danlos syndrome is a rare disorder of type III collagen synthesis. It is characterized by an unusual facies, thin, translucent skin with venous vascular pattern, and hypermobility of the small joints. The cause of death is usually due to rupture of a viscus or a major arterial hemorrhage and, in women, rupture of the gravid uterus. Fatal lung hemorrhage in Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, to our knowledge, has not been previously described.