This case involves a one-year-old child who presented to the ER with cyanosis and clubbed fingers. His parents expressed that the child suddenly collapsed while crawling at home. The boy had no medical conditions except for being born with a heart condition known as patent ductus arteriosus (PDA). At birth, the parents were told by a pediatrician that the defect was small enough to resolve on its own. Follow-up with the hospital was recommended but an appointment was never made. The emergency medicine team ordered an echocardiogram, which revealed a condition known as Eisenmenger’s syndrome. The ER physician told the parents that the child’s defect from birth had transformed into a new heart defect. The physician also indicated that the child had developed pulmonary hypertension, requiring heart surgery and lung transplantation. The child underwent successful heart surgery. A few months later, the child received a lung transplant. Unfortunately, the child experienced organ rejection and subsequently died.
