Successful treatment of pulmonary hypertension with beraprost and sildenafil after cord blood transplantation for infantile leukemia

Abstract

Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is an infrequently reported complication after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, and its etiology and therapeutic strategies, especially in infants, remain unclear. We report a case of severe PH that developed in an infant with acute leukemia following administration of busulfan as a preconditioner for cord blood transplantation; the case was successfully treated with sildenafil and beraprost, which to our knowledge is the first reported successful use of this regimen in PH following transplantation for infantile leukemia. From a review of all previous reports, use of busulfan in infants may raise the risk of developing PH, and unlike definitive pulmonary veno-occlusive disease, PH in this subgroup may be reversible by early detection and treatment.