Clinical Pediatrics
50(9) 882–884
© The Author(s) 2011
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DOI: 10.1177/0009922811408591
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Resident Rounds
Introduction
“A wolf in sheep’s clothing” would be an apt description
for these 2 cases of suspected pneumonia that presented
to 2 rural hospital emergency rooms. Pediatric cancer can
present in atypical fashion in unusual sites and mimic
less serious illness. We present a case of Ewing’s sarcoma
of the rib that was initially diagnosed as lobar pneumonia
until review by a radiologist. The second case of paraspi-
nal ganglioneuroma was thought to be recurrent pneu-
monia until a computed tomography (CT) scan was done
for suspected appendicitis. Primary care providers and
emergency room doctors should be aware of the unusual
manifestations of cancer in children as early diagnosis
with initiation of therapy is a major factor in improving
outcome.
Case 1
A 6-year-old African American male presented to the
emergency room at a rural hospital with complaints of
fever, chest pain localized to the right side, and difficulty
breathing for 1 month. He was a known asthmatic with
multiple visits to the emergency room and hospitaliza-
tions. Parents reported a recent increase in frequency of
exacerbations while on Singulair and albuterol. He had a
nonproductive cough and denied any bruising, petechiae,
vomiting, loss of weight, or bone pains. Review of other
systems was negative. Surgical history was significant for
tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy.
Physical exam revealed that he was afebrile, alert, and
active. Vital signs and cardiovascular exam were within
normal limits. Chest movements were diminished on
the right side, and he was noted to have tenderness on
palpation of the chest wall with decreased breath sounds
over right infra-axillary and infra-mammary regions. No
rales, rhonchi, or wheezing were evident. His abdominal,
central nervous system, and rest of the exams were nor-
mal. His chest X-ray showed a dense opacity in the right
mid lung zone and was initially interpreted as possible
right middle lobe pneumonia (Figure 1). On radiology
review, a destructive lesion was noted on the third rib
(Figure 1) and he was referred to pediatric oncology.
Biopsy of the mass and histological, immunohistochemical,
and molecular markers (EWS-FL1) confirmed a diagnosis
of Ewing’s sarcoma. Positron emission tomography/
computed tomography (PET/CT) scan showed hypermet-
abolic soft tissue mass centered on the right chest wall
involving the right third rib and bilateral pulmonary
nodules and mildly increased uptake over the sacrum
(Figure 2).
1
Manipal University, Manipal, India
2
Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA, USA
3
Ochsner Hospital, New Orleans, LA, USA
Corresponding Author:
Raj Warrier, Pediatric Hematology/ Oncology, Ochsner Hospital,
1315 Jefferson Highway, New Orleans, LA 70121, USA
Email: rwarrier@ochsner.org
Thoracic Tumor Mimicking Pneumonia
Aman Chauhan, MBBS
1
, Tyler Clark, BA
2
,
Craig Lotterman, MD
3
, Daniel J. Bourgeois, BSc
2
,
Ankit Pansara, MD
3
, and Raj Warrier, MD
3
Figure 1. Portable anteroposterior chest radiograph shows
a large mass in mid lung zone of the right hemithorax in this
skeletally immature patient. There is blunting of the right
costophrenic angle indicating a pleural effusion. Presence
of an effusion is worrisome of pleural involvement with
the disease process. The right third rib shows cortical
destruction medially, which indicates osseous invasion