http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0100-39842013000300011 Agnollitto PM et al. Rendu-Osler-Weber:ICONOGRAPHIC whatESSAY radiologists should know

Rendu-Osler-Weber syndrome: what radiologists should know. Literature review and three cases report* Síndrome de Rendu-Osler-Weber: o que o radiologista precisa saber. Revisão da literatura e apresentação de três casos

Paulo Moraes Agnollitto1, André Rodrigues Façanha Barreto1, Raul Fernando Pinsetta Barbieri1, Jorge Elias Junior2, Valdair Francisco Muglia2

Abstract Rendu-Osler-Weber syndrome or hereditary hemorrhagic is an autosomal dominant involving multiple systems whose main pathological change is the presence of abnormal arteriovenous communications. Most common symptoms include skin and mucosal , epistaxis, gastrointestinal, pulmonary and intracerebral bleeding. The key imaging finding is the presence of visceral arteriovenous malformations. The diagnosis is based on clinical criteria and can be confirmed by molecular biology techniques. Treatment includes measures for management of epistaxis, as well as surgical excision, radiotherapy and embolization of arteriovenous malformations, with emphasis on endovascular treatment. The present pictorial essay includes a report of three typical cases of this entity and a literature review. Keywords: Rendu-Osler-Weber; Hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia; Arteriovenous ; Epistaxis.

Resumo A síndrome de Rendu-Osler-Weber ou teleangiectasia hemorrágica hereditária é uma doença vascular autossômica do- minante com acometimento de múltiplos sistemas, cujo principal achado patológico é a presença de comunicações arteriovenosas anômalas. Os sintomas mais comuns são teleangiectasias cutaneomucosas e epistaxe, além de sangra- mento pulmonar, gastrintestinal e intracerebral. O principal achado evidenciado nos métodos de diagnóstico por ima- gem é a presença de malformações arteriovenosas viscerais. O diagnóstico é realizado por meio de critérios clínicos e pode ser confirmado por técnicas de biologia celular. O tratamento inclui medidas para controle da epistaxe, bem como remoção cirúrgica, radioterapia e embolização das malformações arteriovenosas, com destaque para o tratamento endovascular. Neste ensaio, apresentamos três casos típicos desta entidade com revisão da literatura. Unitermos: Rendu-Osler-Weber; Teleangiectasia hemorrágica hereditária; Fístulas arteriovenosas; Epistaxe.

Agnollitto PM, Barreto ARF, Barbieri RFP, Elias Jr J, Muglia VF. Rendu-Osler-Weber syndrome: what radiologists should know. Literature review and three cases report. Radiol Bras. 2013 Mai/Jun;46(3):168–172.

INTRODUCTION bed(3). Most common clinical manifesta- and petechial lesions with perioral and tions include skin and mucosal telangiecta- periungueal distribution. At clinical exami- Rendu-Osler-Weber syndrome or he- sias and epistaxis, besides gastrointestinal, nation, an ulcerated lesion was identified reditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT) pulmonary and intracerebral bleeding(4–6). in the nasal septum. Such lesion was sub- is an autosomal dominant disease with vari- The reported prevalence of this disease is mitted to biopsy whose histopathological able penetrance(1,2), involving multiple or- of 1–2/100,000 live neonates(7), but it may result revealed a chronic inflammatory pro- gans and systems, and characterized by the reach 1/3,500 to 1/5,000 in some regions(8). cess, with presence of round-shaped struc- presence of angiodysplastic lesions which The first reports were published by Ben- tures suggestive of the amastigote form of cause communication between and jamin Guy Babington in 1865, John Wick- Leishmania sp. Chest radiography was per- without interposition of a ham Legg in 1876, and Henri J. L. M. Rendu formed as part of the investigation for the in 1886. Later, William Osler, Frederick infectious condition (leishmaniasis), and * Study developed at Hospital das Clínicas da Faculdade de Parkes Weber and Frederic M. Hanes de- detected the presence of a pulmonary nod- Medicina de Ribeirão Preto da Universidade de São Paulo (HC- FMRPUSP), Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil. scribed visceral manifestations and the ule (Figure 1A). For further investigation, (1) 1. MDs, Residents of and Imaging Diagnosis, hereditary nature of the disease . chest computed tomography (CT) was re- Hospital das Clínicas da Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto da Universidade de São Paulo (HC-FMRPUSP), Ribeirão Preto, In the present study, the authors report quested (Figure 1B) and demonstrated the SP, Brazil. three cases of this syndrome, highlighting vascular nature of the lesion. The hypoth- 2. Private Docents, Docents of the Center of Imaging Sci- ences and Medical Physics, Hospital das Clínicas da Faculdade the diagnostic criteria and imaging find- esis of HHT was raised and supplementary de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto da Universidade de São Paulo (HC- ings, with a literature review. studies were requested – abdominal and FMRPUSP), Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil. cranial CT and magnetic resonance imag- Mailing Address: Dr. Paulo Moraes Agnollitto. Avenida Ca- ramuru, 2300, República. Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil, 14030-000. CASE 1 ing (MRI) – (Figures 1 to 4). Epistaxis was E-mail: [email protected]. A female, 57-year-old, brown-skinned treated with local tamponade. The follow- Received August 28, 2012. Accepted after revision Febru- ary 15, 2013. patient complaining of repetition epistaxis up was discontinued by the patient.

168 Radiol Bras. 2013 Mai/Jun;46(3):168–172 0100-3984 © Colégio Brasileiro de Radiologia e Diagnóstico por Imagem Agnollitto PM et al. Rendu-Osler-Weber: what radiologists should know

Figure 1. A: Posteroanterior chest radiography showing nodule with soft-tissue density in the right lung (arrow). B: Axial CT section, with maximum intensity projection (MIP) showing nodule with soft-tissue attenuation in the middle lobe of the right lung. C: Oblique MPR reconstruction demonstrating the vascular nature of the previously described nodule, with at least two pulmonary arterial branches supplying a malformative nidus and main pulmonary drainage (pulmonary arteriovenous malformation.

Figure 2. A: Contrast-enhanced, axial CT section demonstrating a lesion of vascular nature affecting the hepatic segment VII in association with dilatation of right hepatic vein (arrow). B: Axial MRI T2-weighted section identifying a probably portosystemic hepatic . C: Cross-sectional sections of color Doppler US demonstrating the vascular nature of the lesion.

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CASE 2 her lips, tongue, hands and trunk. The pa- required and the patient is under follow-up tient underwent chest CT and abdominal for three years and has not presented any A female, 43-year-old, white patient CT , which revealed typical complication. This patient has also a complaining of recurrent epistaxis for findings of HHT (Figures 5 and 6). In no daughter with recurrent epistaxis since the about 20 years, besides reddish lesions in occasion treatment with tamponade was age of four, whose investigation is currently being initiated in the authors’ institution, with no imaging study available until the present moment.

CASE 3 A female, 36-year-old, white inpatient with fever was submitted to chest radiog- raphy which demonstrated the presence of pulmonary nodules. At physical examina- tion, the patient presented digital hypo- cratism. Chest CT demonstrated the vascu- lar nature of the lesions visualized at radi- ography (Figure 7). The infectious focus related to the fever was diagnosed as pyelo- nephritis not related to the alterations of HHT, satisfactorily treated with antibiotic therapy. During the diagnostic investiga- tion, the positive family history for the dis- ease could be revealed, since the patient had a relative with a past history of recur- rent epistaxis. No specific treatment was re- Figure 3. A: Gadolinium-enhanced, coronal MRI section demonstrating pulmonary nodular lesion of vas- cular nature, in agreement with CT. B: Contrast-enhanced abdominal MRI angiography demonstrating quired and the patient is under follow-up pulmonary and hepatic involvement by the disease. for six months, with neither complications

Figure 4. Axial brain MRI T1-weighted section demonstrating the presence of Figure 5. Coronal MPR reconstruction identifying a nodule with soft-tissue hypersignal in the globus pallidus (arrows), compatible with manganese depo- density associated with the presence of vessels in left lung inferior lingular sition, confirming the presence of portosystemic shunt. segment.

170 Radiol Bras. 2013 Mai/Jun;46(3):168–172 Agnollitto PM et al. Rendu-Osler-Weber: what radiologists should know nor symptoms related to the findings of the mations (AVMs); 4) positive family history. with predominantly extrapulmonary in- disease. HHT can be confirmed by means of the volvement(4). The cases herein described identification of the involved mutations were not genetically analyzed. with molecular biology techniques. All the HHT is characterized by progressive DISCUSSION cases reported in the present essay were lifetime symptoms. Epistaxis is the first The imaging evaluation of the vascular diagnosed as HHT according the Curacao manifestation, with onset around the age of system has been discussed in a range of criteria. ten, and with increasingly severe episodes. recent publication in the Brazilian radio- Two mutations are involved in the patho- Two of the cases presently reported had logical literature(9–20). genesis of this disease, namely: a) mutation epistaxis as primary symptom, while the HHT is diagnosed on the basis of the of the endoglin gene located in the chromo- other had incidental detection of pulmonary presence of three among four Curacao cri- some 9q that determines type 1 HHT, with lesions. The onset of telangiectasias is also teria(5,6), as follows 1) skin and mucosal te- marked pulmonary involvement; b) muta- progressive and the most common sites are langiectasias; 2) recurrent spontaneous tion of the activin gene located in the chro- the lips, tongue, palate, fingers and face. epistaxis; 3) visceral arteriovenous malfor- mosome 12q that determines type 2 HHT The main complications of the disease originate from pulmonary AVMs resulting in right-to-left shunting which may cause dyspnea, hemoptysis, paradoxical embo- lism and cerebral abscesses, which have not occurred in any of the cases presently re- ported. Hepatic vascular (arterioportal, ar- teriovenous and portosystemic) malforma- tions may also cause right-to-left shunting and determine varied degrees of pulmonary , failure and hepatic en- cephalopathy. In a study with 35 children, Giordano et al.(21) have found nasal telang- iectasias in 68%, skin and mucosal telang- iectasias (fingers, lips, oral cavity) in 79%, pulmonary AVMs in 53%, hepatic AVMs in 47% and brain MAVs and/or ischemic brain alterations secondary to pulmonary AVMs in 12% of the patients. Brain AVMs Figure 6. 3D reconstruction of CT angiography of the aorta demonstrating enlarged caliber in the whole extent of hepatic (A) and a cluster of serpiginous arterial vessels inside the liver parenchyma (B), may cause migraine and intraparenchymal compatible with intrahepatic fistula. and/or subarachnoid hemorrhage. None of

Figure 7. Axial chest CT with maximum intensity projection (MIP) algorithm demonstrating anomalous calibrous vessels in the pulmonary parenchyma (A), nodule in the anterior costophrenic sinus in continuity with dilated serpiginous vessels (B), characterizing pulmonary .

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