Peripartum Respiratory Failure with Bilateral Pulmonary Infiltrates on Chest X-Ray

Abstract

Choriocarcinoma is a gestational trophoblastic disease that carries high mortality. As this disease is highly responsive to chemotherapy, early diagnosis could lead to a favorable outcome. We report a case of metastatic pulmonary choriocarcinoma presented with hemoptysis and respiratory failure in a young woman at her third trimester. This report discusses the dilemma in deriving the diagnosis of choriocarcinoma and briefly outlines the current approaches to its treatment. Potentially life-threatening choriocarcinoma should be considered in all unusual chest radiographs of women of childbearing age. Clinicians should be aware of this possibility and proceed with the most appropriate diagnostic procedures.