[Recurrent neurological accidents due to pulmonary arteriovenous fistulae (author's transl)].

The authors report a case of recurrent cerebral embolism in a 43-year-old patient with a familial form of Rendu-Osler-Weber disease and review their experience of 19 cases of pulmonary arteriovenous fistula. Neurological complications were rare but considerably aggravated the disease. They were due to a significant right/left shunt but remained unpredictable, being unrelated to peripheral arterial saturation. The pathophysiological mechanisms and therapeutic possibilities are discussed.