Neurogenic stunned myocardium presenting as left ventricular hypertrabeculation in childhood: a variant of Takotsubo cardiomyopathy?

Objective: To report the first case of neurogenic stunned myocardium presenting with heart left ventricle noncompaction requiring intensive care in the perioperative period of tension tumor-induced hydrocephalus.
Methods and Design: Case report and literature review. Our Institutional Review Board waived the need for consent.
Patient: A 12-yr-old female with intracranial astrocytoma and hypertensive hydrocephalus presented with severe heart dysfunction and life-threatening ventricular ectopies intraoperatively. A severe heart failure developed requiring hemodynamic and ventilatory support for 10 days. Echocardiography showed a transient noncompaction aspect of the left ventricular wall, further confirmed by a cardiac magnetic resonance image. The noncompaction aspect lasted until 15 days postadmission, as was the case for the QT interval prolongation; no life-threatening ectopies were demonstrated on the subsequent Holter electrocardiogram monitoring.
Conclusions: This report describes a unique presentation of myocardial stunning in association with an intracranial illness, namely, a hypertensive hydrocephalus complicating an intracranial neoplasm.