Sudden death due to medulloblastoma: a case report

Medulloblastoma is one of the notorious CNS malignancies for subtle and atypical clinical presentations, causing rapid neurological deterioration and death, especially in pediatric patients. The delay in diagnosis leads to painful remorse, conflicts, and lawsuits for parents and medical staff.

We report a 2 year old girl with initial presentation of febrile pyuria. Soon after admission, a generalized clonic-tonic seizure attacked to her and led to an impression of febrile convulsion. However, an unusual postical slowness of pupils to light stimulation propelled a further investigation. A contrast enhanced brain computer tomography (CT) unexpectedly showed a mass occupied the fourth ventricle resulting in obstructive hydrocephalus and compressed adjacent brain stem and cerebellum. The disease rapidly progressed and she died 18 hours after an emergent decompression with extraventricular drainage (EVD) installation. Cytology of cerebrospinal fluid proved medulloblastoma.

This case report highlights the importance of clinical suspicion, such as a trivial but unusual presentation, a lagged pupil response to light stimulation. A brain CT scan should be done to rule out any possibility of an organic lesion. Close monitor is required in order to catch and treat medulloblastoma early. However, once discovered, the cancer has spread.