All issues > Volume 35(4); 1992

Case Report

J Korean Pediatr Soc. 1992;35(4):575-580. Published online April 15, 1992.

A Case of WDHA(Watery Diarrhea Hypokalemia Achiorhydria) Syndrome

Nam Seon NS Beck¹, Jun Jai JJ Kim¹, Beom Soo BS Park¹, Jeong Kee JK Seo¹, Hyo Seop HS Ahn¹, Hyung Ro HR Moon¹, Je Geun JG Chi²

¹Department of Pediatrics, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
²Department of Pathology, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea

Abstract

VIP secreting tumors are rare in children but they produce a dramatic clinical picture, the most prominent feature of which is profuse, watery diarrhea and hypokalemia. A 5-year-old girl was brought to Seoul National University Children's Hospital for evaluation of profuse watery diarrhea. She presented with watery diarrhea, hypokalemia, and stunted growth, and had experienced these problems for four years prior to admission. A retroperitoneal tumor was noted by the ultrasound, abdominal CT and MRI scanning. Surgical exploration disclosed a well defined ovoid tumor in retroperitoneal space measuring 8¡¿6¡¿4.5cm, which was proven as ganglioneuroma histologically and the immunohistochemistry study of the tumor for VIP immunoreactivity was positive. Postoperatively, the patient recovered immediately from her symptoms and catched up growth with normal height and weight.

Keywords :Diarrhea, WDHA syndrome, VIPoma