Yeungnam Univ J Med.  2017 Dec;34(2):285-289. 10.12701/yujm.2017.34.2.285.

Pheochromocytoma-induced cardiogenic shock successfully treated by extracorporeal circulation

• Lee MY
• Lee SB
• Cha HS
• You JH
• Choi EY
• Park JS

• KMID: 2400369
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.12701/yujm.2017.34.2.285

Abstract

Pheochromocytoma can present with various symptoms including cardiogenic shock and cardiac arrest. Particularly, in cases of cardiogenic shock of unknown origin, pheochromocytoma should be considered. A 20-year-old woman without any medical history visited our emergency department due to nausea, vomiting, headache, and chest pain. Echocardiography revealed severe left ventricular dysfunction. Mechanical ventilation and veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) were implemented owing to her unstable vital signs. For unstable vital sign and cardiogenic shock in a young woman without any previous medical history, pheochromocytoma was considered and diagnosed based on elevated levels of catecholamine derivatives in a 24-hour urine sample. Cardiac function recovered and ECMO was discontinued on the 5th day of hospitalization. She later underwent an elective adrenalectomy and no recurrence was found during the follow-up period. We reported a case of pheochromocytoma which was presented with cardiogenic shock in a young woman with no concomitant disease, and successfully treated with ECMO followed by an elective adrenalectomy.

Keyword

Cardiogenic shock; Pheochromocytoma; Adrenalectomy; Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation

MeSH Terms

Adrenalectomy
Chest Pain
Echocardiography
Emergency Service, Hospital
Extracorporeal Circulation*
Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation
Female
Follow-Up Studies
Headache
Heart Arrest
Hospitalization
Humans
Nausea
Pheochromocytoma
Recurrence
Respiration, Artificial
Shock, Cardiogenic*
Ventricular Dysfunction, Left
Vital Signs
Vomiting
Young Adult