Burkitt lymphoma presenting as colonic ischemia and overwhelming sepsis

Lymphomas may occasionally present as acute surgical emergencies in children, most commonly because of obstruction, intussusception, or direct bowel invasion. We present the case of a 14-year-old adolescent boy who presented with septic shock and was found to have necrosis of the cecum because of a Burkitt lymphoma. The cause of the ischemia appeared to be mesenteric infiltration and subsequent vascular compromise of the bowel. We discuss the management of this patient and present a review of the literature. (C) 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.