Respiratory complications of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome type IV

Abstract

We describe a case of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS) type IV in a male in early half in his twenties, who experienced recurrent and eventually fatal pulmonary hemorrhage. EDS type IV is a rare disorder of type III collagen synthesis that is characterized by unusual facies, thin translucent skin with a venous vascular pattern, easy bruising, and hypermobility of the small joints. Autopsy findings showed hypermobility of the joints and distensibility of the skin. Microscopically, the abdominal skin showed substantially decreased dermal thickness. Moreover, the reticular dermis showed fine collagen bundles and large interstitial spaces compared with the skin from a normal control that showed large collagen bundles. Individual elastic fibers were also thicker than those observed in the skin of a normal control. The thoracic aorta showed thin adventitia and a relative increase in elastic fibers. The parenchyma of both the lungs showed markedly diffuse hemorrhage with hemosiderin-laden alveolar macrophages or old thrombi and organized thrombi in the small bronchi. Furthermore, both sections of the lung showed multiple fibrous nodules containing benign metaplastic bone. Vascular wall disruption and tearing of the vessel walls in the lung parenchyma were also observed. We concluded that EDS type IV led to the patient's death because of pulmonary hemorrhage. Because this syndrome resulted in the patient's death from arterial and bowel rupture, it is important to consider EDS as a potential cause of sudden death.