Hypertrophic pulmonary osteoarthropathy and thymus carcinoma in children

Thymic carcinoma is an uncommon malignant tumor in childhood disease and its association with hypertrophic pulmonary osteoarthropathy remains very rare. So far, only two cases have been reported. During the study of a hospitalized 14-year-old boy suffering from thoracic pain, cough, and finger clubbing, we diagnosed a hypertrophic pulmonary osteoarthropathy caused by paraneoplastic syndrome associated with thymic carcinoma. Often associated with chronic respiratory failure, hypertrophic pulmonary osteoarthropathy is rarely observed in childhood diseases. Indeed, its diagnosis is established based on evidence of the combination of finger clubbing and long-bone proliferative periostitis on standard x-ray examination. Thymic carcinoma is a rare neoplasm in children and carries a poor prognosis. Aside from chronic cardiorespiratory problems, the diagnosis of the hypertrophic pulmonary osteoarthropathy in childhood must raise suspicion of a tumoral cause.