Massive pulmonary embolism in children.

We present 3 children with massive pulmonary embolism and review 17 recent pediatric reports. Malignancies were a frequent cause (40%), and sudden death was common (60%). Compared with adults, diagnosis was more likely to be made at autopsy (P < .0001), more children were treated with embolectomy/thrombectomy (P = .0006), and mortality was greater (P = .03).