Unilateral pheochromocytomain a child: Case report

One of the etiologies of severe hypertension (HTN) in 1% of children is pheocromocytoma that is a very are tumor. Origins of this rare tumor are the chromophylline cells in the medulla of the adrenal or the paraganglioma tissue out of the adrenal gland which secretes catecholamines that may have various presentations. The main symptom in 90% of patients is persistent hypertension without fluctuation. Other signs of the tumor include: headaches, vertigo, flashing, sweating, nausea and vomiting. This tumor is diagnosed with the elevation of catecholamines or their metabolites in 24 hours’ urine test. This study is a report about how pheochromocytoma is diagnosed and treated in a 12 -year -old boy.

 The patient is a 12-year-old boy with a history of frequent headaches of 3.5 years ago that is brought to the emergency department with complaints of severe headache, palpitations, sweating, nausea and vomiting. At the beginning, the patient's blood pressure was 230/130. After stabilizing the patient and performing abdominal ultrasound and CT scan, the definitive diagnosis of pheocromocytoma was given. After diagnosis and following treatment for two weeks and doing special measures to neutralize catecholamines released from the tumor, final treatment has done with surgery.

Although pheocromocytoma is a rare cause of hypertension in children, it should be considered as a cause of high blood pressure, especially in children with long-standing headaches, so accurate examination of children with history of high blood pressure and long-standing headaches is recommended.