OBJECTIVE: Report an adolescent with pheochromocytoma, a rare cause of hypertension in childhood. CASE DESCRIPTION: Adolescent admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit due to hypertension, secondary to the presence of pheochromocytoma on the left adrenal. Diagnosis of the pheochromocytoma was made by abdominal computed tomography scan and by measuring urinary epinephrine and norepinephrine. The patient underwent excision of the left adrenal, after controlling blood pressure levels with an alpha-blocker drug. The histological analysis confirmed the diagnosis. After the surgery, the patient remained under control and the use of anti-hypertensive medication was stopped. COMMENTS: Pheochromocytomas are catecholamine-secreting tumors, specially epinephrine and norepinephrine. Almost 85 to 95% of the tumors are single, benign and found on adrenal medulla. Pheochromocytoma is a rare tumor - only 10 to 20% occur in childhood - and can cause hypertension. Hypertension is found in the majority of pediatric patients (80%), and may occur associated to headache and sweating. Hypertensive encephalopathy is very rare. The diagnosis can be done, in most cases, by computed tomography scans of the abdomen and by measuring levels of catecholamines and their metabolites produced by the tumor. The treatment of choice is the complete resection of the tumor after the use of an alpha-blocker medication. After the surgery, the majority of patients recover from hypertension.
pheochromocytoma; hypertension; adrenal medulla; child
