Heart neoplasms in children: retrospective analysis

The advancement of noninvasive imaging methods has resulted in the increase in diagnosis of heart neoplasms. However, the literature has few studies involving primary cardiac neoplasms in children.

To retrospectively review cases of primary heart neoplasms in children, considering the initial clinical manifestations, diagnostic tests used, surgical indication, histopathological types and immediate postoperative course.

The retrospective study was based on the assessment of medical records from 1983 to 2011. Only cases that were referred for surgical treatment during that period were included. Age at admission, prenatal diagnosis, family history, initial symptoms and the results of performed tests were assessed. Moreover, the date and indication of the surgery, intraoperative findings, the result of the histopathological analysis, as well as the immediate postoperative complications were recorded.

Of the 18 patients studied, the most frequent clinical manifestations were dyspnea and heart murmur (7 and 6 patients, respectively); the most often used adjunct diagnostic method was echocardiography (18 patients); cavitary obstruction or ventricular inflow or outflow tract obstruction was the main indication for surgery (12 cases); the most common histological profile was rhabdomyoma (7 patients) and most patients showed good clinical outcome.

In this study, imaging diagnosis was basically attained through echocardiography, with good correlation with intraoperative findings. Histopathological findings were consistent with the literature, with rhabdomyoma being the most common neoplasm in children. The evolution after surgical treatment was favorable in most cases.