title: Vascular compromise as a cause of sudden death in a pediatric patient with widely metastatic testicular germ cell tumor.
abstract: During hospitalization for evaluation of a large testicular tumor with extensive metastatic disease, this 14-year-old boy collapsed while showering and could not be resuscitated. At autopsy, there was no evidence of thromboembolic phenomenon, a known cause of sudden death in metastatic testicular tumors and other large abdominal tumors. However, marked compression of the inferior vena cava by a large pelvicoabdominal tumor mass and findings suggestive of systemic-portal shunting were consistent with the death due to the impaired venous return via the inferior vena cava.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, University of Colorado Denver, CO, USA. Grunzke.Mindy@tchden.org
authors.forename: Mindy
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Grunzke
authors.forename: Teri
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Schreiner
authors.forename: John B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Thomison
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Jedlicka
authors.forename: Edythe
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Albano
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001344:Autopsy; D003251:Constriction, Pathologic / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology; D003645:Death, Sudden / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis; D009373:Neoplasms, Germ Cell and Embryonal / Q000150:complications*; D013736:Testicular Neoplasms / Q000150:complications*; D014652:Vascular Diseases; D014682:Vena Cava, Inferior / Q000503:physiopathology*