Pulmonary edema and cardiac dysfunction after resection of a fourth ventricle tumor in a toddler: case report

Abstract

Patients with injury to the central nervous system can develop cardiac and pulmonary symptoms in the absence of primary cardiac or pulmonary disease. In some cases pulmonary edema that responds poorly or not at all to medical therapy such as diuretics develops and is regarded as neurogenic in origin. A variety of conditions may produce neurogenic pulmonary edema (NPE) [1, 5, 11, 12]. We describe a young child who sustained fatal cardiopulmonary collapse in association with an anaplastic fourth ventricular ependymoma. This occurred after attempted resection of the tumor which had invaded the medulla along the floor of the fourth ventricle. Despite a comprehensive investigation following the collapse, it could not be attributed to a cardiac or pulmonary event. Case report