[Recurrent postpartum pyoderma gangrenosum and fatal cardiomyopathy].

BACKGROUND: We report a case of recurrent post-partum pyoderma gangrenosum (PG) complicated by post-partum cardiomyopathy (PPCM).

PATIENTS AND METHODS: A 23-year-old woman presented with a previous medical history of aseptic abscess of the left breast in her fourth pregnancy, which developed after surgical drainage of an inflammatory ulceration treated by atraumatic topical care. During her fifth pregnancy, the patient presented a large and painful ulceration in relation to the scar of the Caesarean section, despite the introduction of broad-spectrum antibiotic therapy. Bacteriological samples were negative. Histological examination militated in favor of PG. One week after initiation of corticosteroid therapy, the patient suddenly showed signs of heart failure. Based on trans-thoracic echocardiography PPCM was diagnosed, and the outcome was fatal.

DISCUSSION: This observation raises the question of the relationship between PG and pregnancy and describes the association of PG and PPCM. PG occurs rarely during pregnancy and it may be induced by the rise in G-CSF levels found in pregnant women. The association with PPCM seen in our patient could have been due to the development of an anti-angiogenic climate at the end of pregnancy, together with inflammatory myocardial aggression linked to the PG.