Adult respiratory distress syndrome in a pregnant patient with a pheochromocytoma.

Five weeks after developing spells of shortness of breath, headache, weakness and abdominal pain, a 29-year-old woman, who was in the 36th week of her third pregnancy developed adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Although the ARDS resolved after a cesarean section, her infant died at birth. Her "spells" continued until a left pheochromocytoma was diagnosed and resected 2 years later. If there are no other known inciting causes of ARDS in a pregnant patient, a pheochromocytoma should be ruled out with appropriate catecholamine determinations.