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A pediatric patient with a mediastinal mass and pulmonary embolus
Author(s) -
BURGOYNE LAURA L.,
ANGHELESCU DORALINA L.,
TAMBURRO ROBERT F.,
ARMENDI ALBERTO J.
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
pediatric anesthesia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.704
H-Index - 82
eISSN - 1460-9592
pISSN - 1155-5645
DOI - 10.1111/j.1460-9592.2005.01765.x
Subject(s) - medicine , mediastinal mass , mediastinum , pulmonary embolism , autopsy , anterior mediastinum , surgery , differential diagnosis , perioperative , radiology , pathology
Summary When anesthetizing a patient with an anterior mediastinal mass, sudden hypoxaemia and cardiovascular collapse may result from compression of a large airway or vascular structure in the mediastinum. We report the case of a pediatric cancer patient with an anterior mediastinal mass, who developed sudden and fatal hypoxaemia and cardiovascular collapse in the hours following sedation. A massive pulmonary thromboembolism was diagnosed at autopsy. We suggest that pulmonary embolism should be considered in the differential diagnosis when a patient with a mediastinal mass develops perioperative hypoxaemia, cardiovascular collapse, or both.