Complex vascular lesions at autopsy in a patient with phentermine-fenfluramine use and rapidly progressing pulmonary hypertension.

Author(s): Strother J, Fedullo P, Yi ES, Masliah E

Affiliation(s): Department of Pathology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093-0624, USA.

Publication date & source: 1999-06, Arch Pathol Lab Med., 123(6):539-40.

Publication type: Case Reports

Anorectic agents, such as aminorex and fenfluramine derivatives, have been associated previously with the development of primary pulmonary hypertension. The combination diet drug phentermine-fenfluramine (or "phen-fen") was recently marketed in the United States. We describe a case of a 39-year-old woman with rapidly progressing, fatal pulmonary hypertension following administration of phentermine-fenfluramine. Autopsy was remarkable for complex pulmonary vascular lesions most consistent with thrombotic arteriopathy.