Survival Into Adulthood With FOXF1-Associated Pulmonary Vascular Disease After Neonatal Onset.

Abstract

Neonates and infants with FOXF1 mutation develop alveolar capillary dysplasia with misalignment of pulmonary veins (ACD/MPV), which is typically considered a uniformly fatal neonatal lung disorder due to marked hypoxemic respiratory failure with severe pulmonary hypertension (PH). Survival beyond infancy is exceedingly rare, with limited reports of FOXF1 genetic abnormalities in older children or adult cases of severe PH. Here, we report the case of a male patient with a pathogenic FOXF1 variant who presented with severe PH in early infancy whose disease stabilized and improved with early and aggressive PH therapy. The patient subsequently died at the age of 30 years, however, due to severe right ventricular failure due to the acute onset of pneumonia. This case highlights that survival into adulthood is feasible in patients with FOXF1-related pulmonary vascular disease and supports the inclusion of FOXF1 in pulmonary hypertension genetic panels for subjects who develop PH across the lifespan.