Congenital chylothorax and pulmonary hypertension complicated with heart failure and hepatopathy.

Oh, Jin Hee; Lee, Guisera; Lee, Jung Hyun

Respiratory difficulty resulting from congenital chylothorax is usually relieved by postnatal thoracentesis, closed chest drainage, and oxygen therapy. However, early occurrence of congenital chylothorax or accumulation of a large amount of chylous fluid sometimes leads to pulmonary hypoplasia or persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn, which requires further customized mechanical ventilatory support. In these cases, conventional mechanical ventilation is primarily used during initial treatment and is later replaced by high-frequency ventilation, but the advantages of inhaled nitric oxide treatment have rarely been described. This case suggests the benefits of inhaled nitric oxide in patients with congenital chylothorax, even when mechanical ventilation cannot improve respiratory distress because of severe pulmonary hypertension of the newborn leading to right cardiac dysfunction and possibly cholestasis.

CHYLOTHORAX; HEART failure; LIVER diseases; PULMONARY hypertension; RESPIRATORY distress syndrome; DISEASE complications

Pediatrics International, 2013, Vol 55, Issue 2, pe7

1328-8067

Academic Journal

10.1111/j.1442-200X.2012.03700.x