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Successful treatment of a bowel perforation after chemotherapy for Burkitt lymphoma.

Goldberg SR, Godder K, Lanning DA

Department of Surgery/Division of Pediatric Surgery, Medical College of Virginia Hospitals/Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA 23298, USA.

Chemotherapy-induced intestinal perforation after treatment for Burkitt lymphoma is a known potential complication. However, there are very few reports in the pediatric literature that discuss this complication in any detail, and most incidents are secondary to surgical complications such as anastomotic leaks. Furthermore, there are no reports of children that have survived chemotherapy-induced perforation, and thus, guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of this complication or for the continuation of chemotherapy are lacking. We present a case of a 5-year-old boy who survived jejunal perforation after treatment for his Burkitt lymphoma, and the critical aspects of his care are discussed.

Published 5 March 2007 in J Pediatr Surg, 42(3): E1-3.
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