VOLUME 24 , ISSUE 12 ( December, 2020 ) > List of Articles
Sonam Agrawal, Prateek K Panda, Indar K Sharawat, Nowneet K Bhat
Citation Information : Agrawal S, Panda PK, Sharawat IK, Bhat NK. Pulmonary Embolism in Children: A Case Series. Indian J Crit Care Med 2020; 24 (12):1272-1275.
DOI: 10.5005/jp-journals-10071-23682
License: CC BY-NC 4.0
Published Online: 22-02-2021
Copyright Statement: Copyright © 2020; The Author(s).
Background: Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a life-threatening event with a mortality of ~10%. It is relatively uncommon in children and literature regarding the condition is sparse. In adults, the classical clinical presentation is with pleuritic chest pain, hemoptysis, and dyspnea, whereas in children, the presentation is often nonspecific. Materials and methods: Clinical features, risk factors, and outcome of children with PE presenting to our unit between December, 19 and March, 2020 were recorded. Results: Four children [mean age: 10 (6–16) years, 3 females], all presenting with tachycardia and dyspnea were diagnosed with PE. Different risk factors such as deep vein thrombosis, nephrotic syndrome, softtissue infection, and infective endocarditis (IE) were identified in all patients. One child died while others responded to anticoagulation. Conclusion: We aim to highlight the importance of timely recognition of PE in children with known risk factors for the same. Early recognition and timely treatment of PE are critical to save lives.