The First Successful Heart-Lung Transplant in a Korean Child with Humidifier Disinfectant-Associated Interstitial Lung Disease

• Published in: Journal of Korean medical science Vol. 31; no. 5; pp. 817 - 821
• Main Authors: Jhang, Won Kyoung, Park, Seong Jong, Lee, Eun, Yang, Song I, Hong, Soo Jong, Seo, Ju-Hee, Kim, Hyung-Young, Park, Jeong-Jun, Yun, Tae-Jin, Kim, Hyeong Ryul, Kim, Yong-Hee, Kim, Dong Kwan, Park, Seung-Il, Lee, Sang-Oh, Hong, Sang-Bum, Shim, Tae-Sun, Choi, In-Cheol, Yu, Jinho
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Korea (South) The Korean Academy of Medical Sciences 01.05.2016; 대한의학회
• Subjects: Case Report; Child, Preschool; Disinfectants - toxicity; Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation; Female; Humans; Humidifiers; Lung - drug effects; Lung - pathology; Lung Diseases, Interstitial - chemically induced; Lung Diseases, Interstitial - pathology; Lung Diseases, Interstitial - therapy; Lung Transplantation; Republic of Korea; Respiratory Rate; Retrospective Studies; Thorax - diagnostic imaging; Tomography, X-Ray Computed; 의학일반; Interstitial Lung Disease; Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation; Heart-Lung Transplantation; Inhalation Exposure
• ISSN: 1011-8934; 1598-6357; 1598-6357
• DOI: 10.3346/jkms.2016.31.5.817

From 2006 to 2011, an outbreak of a particular type of childhood interstitial lung disease occurred in Korea. The condition was intractable and progressed to severe respiratory failure, with a high mortality rate. Moreover, in several familial cases, the disease affected young women and children simultaneously. Epidemiologic, animal, and post-interventional studies identified the cause as inhalation of humidifier disinfectants. Here, we report a 4-year-old girl who suffered from severe progressive respiratory failure. She could survive by 100 days of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation support and finally, underwent heart-lung transplantation. This is the first successful pediatric heart-lung transplantation carried out in Korea.