Impedance cardiography in the diagnosis of capillary leak syndrome caused by doxorubicin therapy in a patient with myeloma multiplex

Abstract

Cytotoxicity of drugs can be a cause of cardiorespiratory disorders connected with chemotherapy. Doxorubicin is an antibiotic from the group of anthracyclines effective in antineoplastic therapy of solid and hematopoetic tumors. The most common cause of therapy ceasing is its cardiotoxicity. However, a lung injury connected with its cytotoxic activity to pulmonary endothelium (capillary leak syndrome) can be an equally serious complication. In the case presented, rapid, multi-profile diagnostics with the use of impedance cardiography, a modern noninvasive tool of hemodynamic monitoring, led to the recognition and effective treatment of a rare clinical syndrome.
(Cardiol J 2010; 17, 1: 88-91)