Abstract
Objective : In order to study the clinical profile of children presenting with superior vena cava syndrome (SVCS), case records of all children presenting with SVCS over a 10-year period were retrospectively analyzed.Methods :Twenty one children (20 males and 1 female) with a median age of 10.0 years (range 5.0 to 12.0 years) were detected to have an underlying hematological malignancy.T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia accounted for a major share (57%) in the underlying etiology; 33% of the subjects had non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (T-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma).Result : No Patient required radiotherapy or urgent thoracotomy. Among survivors (n=11), who were alive and well at the time of writing this report, the median follow-up was 6.5 years, (range 0.5–9.6 years). T-cell ALL and lymphoblastic lymphoma are common underlying causes of SVCS in Indian children.Conclusion : The value of diagnostic interventions performed under local anaesthesia and prebiopsy corticosteroids usage was found to be reassuring since long-term survival without disease is achievable.
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Arya, L.S., Narain, S., Tomar, S. et al. Superior vena cava syndrome. Indian J Pediatr 69, 293–297 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02723212
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02723212