Neonatal chylothorax
Abstract
Introduction: congenital chylothorax is a rare respiratory condition, however it is the most frequent cause of pleural effusion in newborns. Its incidence is low, approximately 1:10 000-15 000 live births. Treatment proposals include conservative, drug and surgical options.
Objective: to present the case of a newborn with congenital chylothorax treated with suspension of oral feeding and parenteral administration of medium chain aminoacids and short or medium chain fatty acids upon reinitiation of enteral feeding.
Case presentation: male patient, first preterm twins and low weight, with parabiotic syndrome. At 21 days of life he presented left pleural effusion. It was punctured and the study of drained fluid showed characteristics of chylothorax. Conservative treatment was indicated, with complete parenteral feeding, and later with milk rich in fatty acids of short and medium chains. Once recovered, he was discharged from hospital.
Conclusions: in the presence of a neonate presenting clinical and radiological signs of pleural effusion, the possibility of a chylothorax should be considered, so it is essential to evacuate the fluid for study. Once the diagnosis is confirmed, it is suggested to suspend the oral feeding and administer medium chain amino acids parenterally. The restart of enteral feeding should be with short or medium chain fatty acids, without long-chain fatty acids, to avoid recurrenceDownloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
MediCiego does not apply publication charges. The journal is available in open access without restrictions, in compliance with the international policy on open access to information for the exchange of global knowledge.
The authors will retain their copyright and guarantee the journal the right of first publication of their work. MediCiego is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International license (CC BY-NC 4.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/deed.es_ES), so it is allowed to copy, reproduce, distribute, publicly communicate the work and generate derivative works, as long as the original author is cited and acknowledged. However, it is not allowed to use the original work for commercial or lucrative purposes.
Authors must sign a copyright agreement through an affidavit of authorship and originality, before publishing.
The authors authorize the publication of their writings; they retain the copyright, and assign to the journal all the rights protected by the Copyright Law that governs Cuba, and implies the edition to disseminate the work.
Likewise, they may establish additional agreements for the non-exclusive distribution of the version of the work published in the journal (for example, placing it in an institutional repository or publishing it in a book), with the recognition of having been first published in this journal.
Declaration of authorship: download here the Affidavit
