The Pickwickian Syndrome in a Child.

In the "Pothumous Papers of the Pickwick Club," Charles Dickens in 1837 described a fat and red-faced boy in a state of somnolence. From this description and with the development of pulmonary function tests, the term Pickwickian syndrome has been coined. This article describes the eighth reported child and the third coming to autopsy in literature. The most important etiologic and immediate factor in the pathologic physiology of the Pickwick syndrome is extreme obesity. Noteworthy was the tremendous obesity and severity of the cardiorespiratory disturbances which ultimately led to the child's death.