Ganglioneuroblastoma in a child with chronic abdominal pain - a case report

• Published in: Medycyna wieku rozwojowego Vol. 22; no. 4; pp. 364 - 370
• Main Authors: Jamer, Tatiana, Pytrus, Tomasz, Zaleska-Dorobisz, Urszula, Iwańczak, Barbara
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Polish
• Published: Poland 2018
• Subjects: children; abdominal pain; ganglioneuroblastoma
• ISSN: 1428-345X

Chronic abdominal pain is a very common complaint in the population of children and adolescents. In most cases, the usual cause are functional gastrointestinal disorders. However, in a few percent of children, the reason for persistent chronic stomach pain are organic diseases occurring in the gastrointestinal tract, as well as parenteral diseases, including uro-genital tract abnormalities, inflammation of the lower respiratory tract and cancer processes. Among organic causes, in addition to those commonly encountered, such as: intolerances and food allergies, gastroesophageal reflux disease, chronic gastritis or duodenitis, or urinary tract infections, the diagnosis should also include very rare causes, for example, neoplastic diseases, among them tumors of the abdominal cavity. In the case described in the present article, a 6-year-old girl with chronic abdominal pain, symptoms of gastro-oesophageal reflux and constipation, and previously diagnosed food allergy and lactose intolerance, was referred for widening the diagnosics due to the occurrence of alarm symptoms. The nodule revealed in the chest X-ray, in CT scan, turned out to be a paravertebral tumor with the specific features of neuroblastoma. After a macroscopically complete tumor resection based on the result of histopathological examination, the diagnosis of ganglineuroblastoma was established. The presence of alarm symptoms in anamnesis and physical examination in children with abdominal pain suggests a higher probability of the organic origin of the disease and should always lead to extended diagnostics. Ganglioneuroblastoma is a very rare disease, in most cases is located primarily in the abdominal cavity, and the most common associated symptom is abdominal pain.