Juvenile polyps with cachexia. Report of an infant and comparison with Cronkhite-Canada syndrome in adults.

Juvenile polyps occur in adults and infants; where multiple, they may be complicated by progressive cachexia with hypoalbuminemia and electrolyte depletion. We report a fatal case of multiple juvenile polyposis with cachexia, alopecia, and megalocephaly presenting in a 9-month-old infant, and review 2 additional cases in infancy. A similar syndrome in adults had been described by Cronkhite and Canada, with intestinal polyposis, nail dystrophy, hyperpigmentation, and alopecia. Histological examination of a polyp from one case of Cronkhite-Canada syndrome suggests a juvenile rather than adenomatous pathology. Multiple juvenile polyps can cause devastating enteropathy and cachexia.