Pheochromocytoma Presenting with Hypertensive Encephalopathy in a 12-Year-Old Boy

oleh: Jung Heon Kim, Jeong-Min Ryu

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: Korean Society of Pediatric Emergency Medicine 2015-06-01

Deskripsi

Although pheochromocytoma is rare in children, it could result in hypertensive emergency. We describe the case of a 12-year-old boy with pheochromocytoma. His clinical manifestations indicated hypertensive encephalopathy; however, there were no space-occupying lesion in the brain and definitive evidence of secondary cause of hypertension. Knowing that he had extremely high blood pressure, headache, palpitation, and perspiration rendered sympathetic crisis a presumptive diagnosis. Subsequently, pheochromocytoma was diagnosed by computed tomography and catecholamine assay. After stabilizing the blood pressure with antihypertensive medications, such as phenoxybenzamine, laparoscopic adrenalectomy was performed, and he was discharged without residual discomfort. We would like to highlight expeditious diagnosis and proper management of pheochromocytoma with hypertensive encephalopathy.