Cardiac Tumor Revealing in the Newborn; A Case with Spontaneous Regression

Case Details

Personal Characteristics

Newborn, male, named pierre-alexandre r., weighed 7,200 grams at 5 months, weighed 9 kilograms at 11 months, weighed 10.5 kg at 16 months, 73 centimeters tall at 11 months, 77 centimeters tall at 16 months

Clinical Characteristics

Cardiac arrest, poorly tolerated attacks of tachycardia, cardiac failure, high frequency tachyrhythmia, sinus rhythm of 130/minute, pr 0.12 seconds, qrs axis strongly deviated to the left at -60°, problems of repolarization of the ischemic type, important flow of injury in front and lateral and under-epicardium, massive cardiomegaly with a heart to chest ratio of 0.70 and normal pulmonary vascularization, echogenic masses in contact with the lateral wall of the left ventricle, the apex, the right and the left surfaces of the intraventricular septum, residual echogenic mass on the right surface of the intraventricular septum, rhythmical complications, dermal photosensitivity

Remission Characteristics

Rapid regression of the number and size of the tumours on echocardiography, tendency to normalization of the electrocardiographs, regression of the cardiac failure under treatment with digitalis and diuretics, heart volume regressed with the heart to chest ratio of 0.63, echogenic masses decreased in size and number, ventricular passes and auriculoventricular orifices were totally free, small echogenic masses of the wall protruding into the right ventricle, intraauricular wall became thicker, echogenicity increased, pericardium was free, ventricular contractility was normal

Treatment & Mechanisms

Proposed Remission Mechanisms

Not discussed

Clinical Treatment

Amiodarone, digitalis and diuretics

Additional Notes

The patient was admitted to the hospital at the age of 8 days with cardiac failure. The patient was returned to the family after treatment. The patient suffered another attack of tachycardia at 11 months which was provoked by infection. The dosage of amiodarone was increased. Tachycardia did not recur at the age of 16 months. The treatment with amiodarone was canceled due to the dermal photosensitivity and the absence of the rhythmical complications. The results of the attempts to reveal Bourneville’s disease were negative.