PEDIATRIC CARDIAC TUMORS: ECHOCARDIOGRAPHIC IMAGING FEATURES – A
PICTORIAL REVIEW
Abstract
Cardiac tumors (CT) in children are very rare lesions, but their
diagnosis is crucial for patient management. Echocardiography is the
most used cardiovascular imaging modality in clinical practice for the
initial diagnosis of CT in pediatric patients. Knowing the
echocardiographic characteristics of CTs can enable an increasingly
early diagnosis and the identification of its most likely etiology.
Primary CTs are the most frequent in children, with benign ones being
the most prevalent. Among benign CTs, the most frequent in fetuses and
neonates are rhabdomyomas and teratomas, while in older children, they
are rhabdomyomas and fibromas. In this article we describe the
echocardiographic characteristics of the main CTs in pediatric ages.