A 6-year-old boy was admitted with anasarca due to relapse of nephroti
c syndrome, non-productive cough, and dyspnea on exertion. On the 8th
hospital day he manifested severe right shoulder and chest pain. A nod
ular opacity in the right lung that transformed into a cavitating lesi
on was documented by computerized axial tomography. Surgical biopsy of
the affected area of the lung documented infarction due to pulmonary
embolism. This case highlights the need to consider pulmonary embolism
in the evaluation of nephrotic children with a cavitating pulmonary l
esion.