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Case Reports
. 2021 Apr;119(2):e171-e175.
doi: 10.5546/aap.2021.e171.

[Germinoma in a patient with emaciation and growth retardation. Case report]

[Article in Spanish]
Antonella Y Ciucio  1 , Norma Schenone  2
Affiliations
Free article
Case Reports

[Germinoma in a patient with emaciation and growth retardation. Case report]

[Article in Spanish]
Antonella Y Ciucio et al. Arch Argent Pediatr. 2021 Apr.
Free article

Abstract
in English, Spanish

Central nervous system tumors are the second most frequent oncological disease among children and teenagers. Among the intracranial tumors, the germ cells ones are infrequent. The symptoms they cause are headaches, nausea and vomiting, hormonal deficits, visual disturbances, weight loss, poor growth and early puberty. Less frequently, they produce movement or psychiatric disorders. Some of these tumors can be asymptomatic for a long period leading to a late diagnosis. The case of a 14-year-old female patient is presented. She showed weight loss and growth failure, with wrong diagnosis of eating disorder. After proper study methods, we arrived to central nervous system germinoma diagnosis. Because this pathology is rare and has a variable form of presentation, it requires that the family involved and the health team to be alert, to avoid delays in diagnosis and treatment.

Los tumores del sistema nervioso central representan la segunda enfermedad oncológica más habitual en niños y adolescentes. Entre los tumores intracraneales, los de células germinales son infrecuentes. Los síntomas que desencadenan son cefalea, náuseas, vómitos, déficits hormonales, alteraciones visuales, pérdida de peso, pobre crecimiento y pubertad precoz. Menos frecuentemente, producen trastornos del movimiento o psiquiátricos. Algunos de estos tumores pueden ser asintomáticos un largo período, lo que desencadena un diagnóstico tardío. Se presenta a una paciente femenina de 14 años con pérdida de peso y falla del crecimiento, con diagnóstico erróneo de trastorno de la conducta alimentaria. Tras estudios pertinentes, se arribó al diagnóstico de germinoma del sistema nervioso central. Al ser esta patología infrecuente y de presentación variable, requiere alto sentido de alerta por parte de la familia involucrada y del equipo de salud para evitar retrasos en el diagnóstico y el tratamiento.

Keywords: failure to thrive; germinoma; hypopituitarism; pediatrics.

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Conflict of interest statement

None

References

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