Case Report
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2023. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. Jan 6, 2023; 11(1): 135-142
Published online Jan 6, 2023. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v11.i1.135
Polyneuropathy organomegaly endocrinopathy M-protein and skin changes syndrome with ascites as an early-stage manifestation: A case report
Xiao-Lei Zhou, Ying-Hao Chang, Lan Li, Juan Ren, Xiao-Ling Wu, Xue Zhang, Peng Wu, Shan-Hong Tang
Xiao-Lei Zhou, Shan-Hong Tang, Graduate School, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou 646099, Sichuan Province, China
Xiao-Lei Zhou, Lan Li, Juan Ren, Xiao-Ling Wu, Xue Zhang, Peng Wu, Shan-Hong Tang, Department of Gastroenterology, General Hospital of Western Theater Command, Chengdu 610083, Sichuan Province, China
Ying-Hao Chang, Department of Infectious Diseases, General Hospital of Western Theater Command, Chengdu 610083, Sichuan Province, China
Author contributions: Zhou XL and Chang YH were the patient’s physicians, reviewed the literature, and contributed to manuscript drafting; Li L, Ren J, and Wu XL contributed to manuscript drafting and interpreted the imaging findings; Zhang X and Wu P contributed to revision of the manuscript; Tang SH was responsible for revising the manuscript for important intellectual content; All authors approved the final submitted version of the manuscript.
Informed consent statement: Informed written consent was obtained from the patient and her relatives for publication of this report and any accompanying images.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report having no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
CARE Checklist (2016) statement: The authors have read the CARE Checklist, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the CARE Checklist.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Shan-Hong Tang, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor, Associate Chief Physician, Director, Graduate School, Southwest Medical University, No. 319 Section 3 Zhongshan Road, Luzhou 646099, Sichuan Province, China. shanhongtang@163.com
Received: August 27, 2022
Peer-review started: August 27, 2022
First decision: October 21, 2022
Revised: November 4, 2022
Accepted: December 9, 2022
Article in press: December 9, 2022
Published online: January 6, 2023
Core Tip

Core Tip: Polyneuropathy organomegaly endocrinopathy M-protein and skin changes (POEMS) syndrome is a rare paraneoplastic syndrome caused by a potential plasma cell tumor. The clinical manifestations of POEMS syndrome are diverse, and the syndrome is often misdiagnosed or never diagnosed, resulting in delayed treatment and a poor outcome. Ascites might be an early clinical manifestation of POEMS syndrome. Thus, POEMS syndrome should be considered as a potential diagnosis for patients with unexplained ascites. Furthermore, multidisciplinary team discussion is helpful in the diagnosis of POEMS syndrome.