Acute pulmonary hypertension crisis after adalimumab reduction in rheumatoid vasculitis

Abstract

Rheumatoid vasculitis is a rare etiology for pulmonary hypertension (PH) in patients with connective tissue disease. We encountered a case of acute PH crisis in a case with rheumatoid vasculitis eight months after undergoing adalimumab reduction. Since no repetition of arthralgia occurred after the adalimumab reduction, we decided to not increase the dose of adalimumab. However, hemodynamic collapse thereafter developed and even though steroid pulse therapy was administered, the patient nevertheless died. The autopsy showed clusters of acute and chronic inflammation around the remodeled pulmonary arteries along with micro-thrombi in the vessel lumen. We should consider the possibility of critical worsening of PH as a phenotype of vasculitis related to immunosuppressive therapy reduction.