Massive pulmonary embolus ina 14yearoldboy

Pulmonaryembolusinchildren israre. A caseofmassive pulmonary embolus, after surgery, inachild of14yearsisdescribed. Accident andemergencydoctorsshould be awarethatpulmonaryemboluscan occurinchildren and exercise a high indexofsuspicion forthediagnosis in thosepatients withriskfactors forthe condition whopresent acutely withtypical symptomssuchasdyspnoea, chestpain, haemoptysis, orcollapse. (7Accid Emerg Med1999; 16:289-290)