| BACKGROUND: Acute cor pulmonale is a clinical syndrome with signs of right-sided heart failure resulting from sudden increase of pulmonary vascular resistance. CASE PRESENTATION: A five-year-old male, infected by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), was admitted at the division of infectious diseases of this hospital with cough, tachydyspnea, fever, and breathing difficulty. Computed tomography scan showed ground-glass opacities, cystic lesions, and bronchiectasis. The patient had nasal flaring, intercostal and subcostal retractions, and keeled chest. Abdomen was depressible; liver was 3 cm from the right-costal border, while spleen was 6 cm from the left-costal border. Echocardiogram examinations showed signs of acute cor pulmonale characterized by... |
