Detection of cancer in the pediatric emergency department

We reviewed the Tumor Registry for 1981 at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia to identify all the children with newly diagnosed cancer who were seen initially in the emergency department (ED). Of the 220 new patients listed, 16 (7.3%) sought initial care in the ED (1 per 4,500 ED visits). Seven had leukemia, five had non-CNS solid tumors (2 lymphoreticular, 1 Wilms', 1 neuroblastoma, and 1 ovarian), and four had CNS tumors. Among the children with leukemia, pallor (6) and decreased activity (4) were the most common complaints. Duration of symptoms ranged from 4 days to 3 weeks. Physical examination showed pallor (5), splenomegaly (4), fever (3), hepatomegaly (3), lymphadenopathy (3), and ecchymoses or petechiae (2). The complete blood count and peripheral smears were all abnormal. The five patients with non-CNS solid tumors had symptoms related to the location of their neoplasms. The patients with Wilms' tumor, neuroblastoma, and ovarian dysgerminoma had abdominal masses; the patient with lymphoma had a large, painful inguinal node; and the patient with histiocytosis X had an infiltrative rash, gingivitis, and pneumonitis. Of the four children with CNS tumors, three had headache, and one had an incidentally detected scotoma following head trauma. All four eventually had abnormal neurologic exams and computer tomographic scans, but two were discharged initially with psychiatric diagnoses. We conclude that cancer, although rare in children, occurs with greater relative frequency in the referral hospital ED than that predicted by published cancer rates from the referring hospital's ED.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)