Anorexia: an early sign of fourth ventricle astrocytoma in children

Introduction Paediatric low-grade astrocytomas of the fourth ventricle are rare tumours, generally revealed by hydrocephalus. However, some patients present with a history of severe anorexia. It might be a harbinger, which if recognized, could lead to earlier diagnosis. We decided to examine our dat...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Child's nervous system 2014-12, Vol.30 (12), p.2089-2095
Main Authors: Leroy, Henri-Arthur, Baroncini, Marc, Delestret, Isabelle, Florent, Vincent, Vinchon, Matthieu
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Anorexia - epidemiology
Anorexia - etiology
Anorexia - surgery
Body Weight
Cerebral Ventricle Neoplasms - diagnosis
Cerebral Ventricle Neoplasms - epidemiology
Cerebral Ventricle Neoplasms - surgery
Child
Child, Preschool
Early Diagnosis
Female
Fourth Ventricle - surgery
Humans
Incidence
Infant
Male
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Neurologic Examination
Neurosciences
Neurosurgery
Original Paper
Retrospective Studies
Statistics, Nonparametric
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Summary:Introduction Paediatric low-grade astrocytomas of the fourth ventricle are rare tumours, generally revealed by hydrocephalus. However, some patients present with a history of severe anorexia. It might be a harbinger, which if recognized, could lead to earlier diagnosis. We decided to examine our database in order to evaluate the incidence and signification of anorexia in this context. Methods Retrospective monocentric study of cases of low-grade astrocytomas of the fourth ventricle operated between 1991 and 2012 in our paediatric neurosurgery department. We particularly observed the clinical presentation and long-term clinical, oncological and radiological evolution. Non-parametrical tests were used (Mann–Whitney, Fisher). Results We reviewed 34 cases, 31 pilocytic astrocytomas and 3 diffuse astrocytomas, 16 boys and 18 girls, (M/F ratio 0.89). Mean age at diagnosis was 8 years old. Seven presented with notable anorexia, the average BMI in this group was ≤2 standard deviation (SD); with clinical signs evolving for 11.5 months. Twenty-seven children had no anorexia; average BMI in this group was +1 SD, with clinical evolution for 6 months on an average of p  
ISSN:0256-7040
1433-0350
DOI:10.1007/s00381-014-2533-1