Primary Cardiac Tumors in Infancy: A Case Report and Literature Review

Sudden death in infants due to primary cardiac tumors is extremely rare. Herein we describe a case of an 8-month-old male infant, without any previous medical history, who died in a hospital in the city of Medellín-Antioquia, Colombia. The family stated that approximately 15 minutes after he received a bottle, the baby became cyanotic and subsequently lost consciousness. He was taken to the hospital immediately; however, he arrived lifeless. As this was a sudden death case, the child was referred to the Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences in the city of Medellín to clarify the cause, manner, and mechanism of death. The forensic autopsy revealed a eutrophic infant with central and peripheral cyanosis, without signs of trauma, and the internal examination found a single cardiac tumor in the anterior wall of the left ventricle. The mass was white and whorled; histological evaluation diagnosed a fibroma. The manner of death was natural due to a cardiogenic shock caused by a primary tumor.