title: Extra-adrenal pheochromocytoma presenting with life-threatening ventricular tachycardia: a case report.
abstract: Extra-adrenal pheochromocytoma develops in paraganglion chromaffin cells of the sympathetic nervous system. It probably represents at least 15% of adult and 30% of childhood pheochromocytomas. Although electrocardiographic abnormalities occur in up to 75% of patients with pheochromocytoma, there are only three other reported cases of pheochromocytoma that initially presented with ventricular tachycardia. In this report, we describe a 64-year-old woman with an abdominal para-aortic extra-adrenal pheochromocytoma who presented with pulseless ventricular tachycardia and needed electrical defibrillation initially to keep vital signs. The 24-hour urine vanillylmandelic acid was 35.8 mg. Computerized tomography showed a left retroperitoneal mass. The postoperative course was uneventful. Pheochromocytoma was proved by histologic study.
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Wei-Ming
authors.initials: WM
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Chun-Hsiung
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Chin-Ming
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Su
authors.forename: Chee-Yin
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Chai
authors.forename: Wen-Jeng
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Yii-Her
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Chou
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D010673:Pheochromocytoma / Q000150:complications*; D017180:Tachycardia, Ventricular / Q000209:etiology*