Early diagnosis of Meigs syndrome in children A case report and a review of the literature
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Abstract
Meigs syndrome is a rare disease defined by the coexistence of benign ovarian neoplasm, ascites and hydrothorax, which mainly affects women over the age of 30. This clinical condition refers only to cases in which the ovarian neoformation is a fibroid, a thecoma, a granulosa cell tumor or a Brenner tumor with disappearance of symptoms and effusions after removal of the neoplasm. Meigs syndrome is most frequently characterized by the presence of an ovarian fibroid, which in childhood is very rare and not commonly associated with the disease. In this article we report the case of an 11year-old girl who came to our observation for a high fever for five days accompanied by cough and abdominal pain; imaging methods revealed bilateral hydrothorax, ascites, and a voluminous expansive right ovarian formation. On histological examination, the mass showed a cellular fibroid and the diagnosis of Meigs syndrome was made. Furthermore, we present a review of the literature aimed at detecting the state of knowledge on this disease in pediatric age, giving particular emphasis to the condition for which, in the presence of pleural effusion and ascites, an ovarian neoformation is not necessarily malignant.
Meigs syndrome is a rare disease defined by the coexistence of benign ovarian neoplasm, ascites and hydrothorax, which mainly affects women over the age of 30. This clinical condition refers only to cases in which the ovarian neoformation is a fibroid, a thecoma, a granulosa cell tumor or a Brenner tumor with disappearance of symptoms and effusions after removal of the neoplasm. Meigs syndrome is most frequently characterized by the presence of an ovarian fibroid, which in childhood is very rare and not commonly associated with the disease. In this article we report the case of an 11year-old girl who came to our observation for a high fever for five days accompanied by cough and abdominal pain; imaging methods revealed bilateral hydrothorax, ascites, and a voluminous expansive right ovarian formation. On histological examination, the mass showed a cellular fibroid and the diagnosis of Meigs syndrome was made. Furthermore, we present a review of the literature aimed at detecting the state of knowledge on this disease in pediatric age, giving particular emphasis to the condition for which, in the presence of pleural effusion and ascites, an ovarian neoformation is not necessarily malignant.