The use of steroids in treating chylothorax following cardiac surgery in children: a unique perspective

Chylothorax is the accumulation of chyle fluid in the pleural space. The incidence of chylothorax is quite common post-cardiac surgeries in pediatrics especially in Fontan procedures. Although several treatment lines are known for the management of chylothorax, steroids were scarcely reported as a t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Cardiology in the young 2022-04, Vol.32 (4), p.525-530
Main Authors: Saad, Dima, Makarem, Adham, Fakhri, Ghina, Al Amin, Farah, Bitar, Fadi, El Rassi, Issam, Arabi, Mariam
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Children
Corticoids
Corticosteroids
General Cardiology
Heart
Heart surgery
Literature reviews
Pediatrics
Review
Somatostatin
Steroid hormones
Steroids
Surgery
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Summary:Chylothorax is the accumulation of chyle fluid in the pleural space. The incidence of chylothorax is quite common post-cardiac surgeries in pediatrics especially in Fontan procedures. Although several treatment lines are known for the management of chylothorax, steroids were scarcely reported as a treatment option. We present a unique case of a 4-year-old child who underwent Fontan procedure and suffered a long-term consequence of chylothorax. The chylothorax only fully resolved after introducing corticosteroids as part of her management. A literature review about management of chylothorax post-cardiac surgery in children using Ovid Medline (19462021), PubMed, and google scholar was performed. Conservative management without additional surgical intervention is adequate in most patients. Additionally, somatostatin can be used with variable success rate. However, a few cases mentioned using steroids in such cases. More research and reporting on the use of steroids in the treatment of chylothorax post-cardiac surgeries in children is needed to prove its effectivity. In this article, we describe a case of chylothorax post-Fontan procedure that supports the use of steroids.
ISSN:1047-9511
1467-1107
DOI:10.1017/S1047951122000750