Rhabdomyosarcoma causing rapid bilateral visual loss in children.
Rhabdomyosarcoma commonly involves the orbit resulting in unilateral proptosis, swelling, and restricted ocular motility. We saw two unusual cases of children with nasopharyngeal rhabdomyosarcoma which caused rapid bilateral visual loss due to simultaneous spread of the tumor to the orbital apices. Initial CT scans revealed the tumor, but were misinterpreted as "normal," causing a significant delay in diagnosis. We recommend high resolution CT scans of the nasopharynx, orbits, and suprasellar region in any child with rapid bilateral visual loss to rule out this common childhood tumor.
D001766:Blindness / Q000209:etiology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003951:Diagnostic Errors; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009303:Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms / Q000150:complications* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D009902:Optic Neuritis / Q000175:diagnosis*; D009918:Orbital Neoplasms / Q000150:complications* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D012208:Rhabdomyosarcoma / Q000150:complications* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed