Atypical presentations of spinal cord tumors in children.

Pain is a frequent presenting symptom of spinal cord tumors in children and usually manifests as local spinal pain in the bony segments overlying the tumor. Two pediatric patients are presented in whom the diagnosis of intramedullary spinal cord tumors was delayed for many months because their pain was atypical. One had recurrent abdominal pain diagnosed as irritable bowel syndrome. The other had very abrupt paroxysmal but infrequent attacks of arm pain and no neurologic abnormalities. Possible mechanisms of their pain, as well as the other features that might have suggested the diagnosis, are discussed.