Lessons from a patient with cardiac arrest due to massive pulmonary embolism as the initial presentation of Wilms tumor: a case report and literature review

Background Finding an abdominal mass or hematuria is the initial step in diagnosing Wilms tumor. As the first manifestation of Wilms tumor, it is exceedingly rare for pulmonary tumor embolism to present with cardiac arrest. A case of a patient whose sudden cardiac arrest due to massive pulmonary tumor embolism of Wilms tumor was not responsive to resuscitation is presented. Case presentation The patient was a five-year-old girl who collapsed suddenly during activity in nursery school and went into cardiac arrest in the ambulance. Unfortunately, she was not responsive to conventional resuscitation. A judicial autopsy conducted at the local police department showed the main cause of her sudden cardiac arrest was attributed to multiple pulmonary tumor embolisms of stage IV Wilms tumor. Conclusions Except for one reported case, treatments were not successful in all eight cardiac arrest cases with pulmonary tumor embolism of Wilms tumor. These results indicate that it is challenging not only to make an accurate diagnosis, but also to provide proper specific treatment in the cardiac arrest setting. We propose that flexible triage and prompt transfer to a tertiary hospital are necessary as an oncologic emergency to get such patients to bridging therapy combined with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation or immediate surgical intervention under cardiopulmonary bypass.