Cauda equina syndrome as the initial presenting clinical feature of medulloblastoma: a case report

Journal of Medical Case Reports

Essam Al Shail³  Amani Al Kofide¹  Hindi Al-Hindi²  Anwar Ul-Haq³  Faisal Al-Otaibi³ 

[1] Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Oncology Center, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia;Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia;Division of Neurosurgery, Neurosciences Department, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center, PO Box 3354, Riyadh, 11211, Saudi Arabia

关键词: Paraparesis;    Medulloblastoma;    Drop metastasis;    Cauda equina syndrome;   

Others  :  1195787
DOI  :  10.1186/1752-1947-6-135

 received in 2011-10-22, accepted in 2012-05-23,  发布年份 2012

【 摘 要 】

Introduction

Medulloblastoma is one of the most common pediatric brain malignancies. The usual presenting clinical features are related to posterior fossa syndrome or/and hydrocephalus. Cauda equina syndrome is a very rare presentation for this disease.

Case presentation

We describe the case of a three-year-old boy with cauda equina syndrome as the initial presenting clinical feature for medulloblastoma. He was initially diagnosed as having a spinal tumor by magnetic resonance imaging scan. Subsequently, a cranial magnetic resonance imaging scan revealed a posterior fossa tumor with features of dissemination. He had substantial improvement after treatment. This case report is complemented by a literature review related to this unusual presentation.

Conclusions

Medulloblastoma primarily presenting with cauda equina syndrome is very rare. However, spinal drop metastasis should be considered in the pediatric age group to avoid suboptimal management.

【 授权许可】

   
2012 Al Otaibi et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

【 图 表 】

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