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Vitamin C deficiency as an unusual cause of pulmonary hypertension and refusal to walk

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 December 2020

Jason W. Y. Tan Open the ORCID record for Jason W. Y. Tan [Opens in a new window] ,
Olive P. E. Lee  and
Ming Chern Leong
Jason W. Y. Tan
Affiliation:
Paediatric and Congenital Heart Centre, Institut Jantung Negara (National Heart Institute of Malaysia), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Olive P. E. Lee
Affiliation:
Paediatric and Congenital Heart Centre, Institut Jantung Negara (National Heart Institute of Malaysia), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Ming Chern Leong*
Affiliation:
Paediatric and Congenital Heart Centre, Institut Jantung Negara (National Heart Institute of Malaysia), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
*
Author for correspondence: Dr M. C. Leong, Consultant Paediatric Cardiologist, Paediatric and Congenital Heart Centre, Institut Jantung Negara (National Heart Institute of Malaysia), 145, Jalan Tun Razak, Kuala Lumpur50400, Malaysia. Tel: +603-26178470; Fax: +603 – 2694 6478. E-mail: mcleong@ijn.com.my
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Abstract

Vitamin C deficiency has been a historical disease rarely seen nowadays. We illustrate a case of a boy with autism presenting with severe pulmonary hypertension and refusal to walk secondary to vitamin C deficiency. Initiating treatment with high-dose vitamin C reversed his symptoms and he regained full power of his lower limbs with total normalisation of his pulmonary pressures.

Keywords

Pulmonary hypertensionvitamin C deficiencyautistic spectrum disorder
Type
Brief Report
Information
Cardiology in the Young , Volume 31 , Issue 2 , February 2021 , pp. 322 - 324
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press

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