Cavitary pulmonary lesions in type IV Ehlers-Danlos syndrome.

Type IV Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS) is characterized by large vessel bleeding, visceral rupture and early death. Pulmonary complications are uncommon. We report an 18-year-old patient with EDS type IV who developed recurrent large, thick-walled lung cavitary lesions, probably a manifestation of focal lung rupture. Such hemorrhagic cavities are probably the basis of the bullous disease and recurrent pneumothoraces occasionally observed in type IV EDS.