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A rare cause of dyspnea due to chylothorax

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Abstract

We report the case of an 8-year-old boy who presented to the emergency department of another hospital and was referred to our pediatric intensive care unit with dyspnea and tachypnea of recent onset. The diagnosis of massive chylothorax with mediastinal shift was made on chest radiographs and CT scan. Initial investigations revealed no definite cause for the chylothorax. On later radiography and CT imaging with 3D surface rendering, a marked bone loss of the left ribs, clavicle, and shoulder joint was shown. The diagnosis of Gorham–Stout disease associated with chylothorax was suspected and histologically confirmed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology, UZ Brussel, Laarbeeklaan 101, 1090, Brussels, Belgium

    Kristof De Smet, Michel De Maeseneer & Caroline Ernst

  2. Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, UZ Brussel, Brussels, Belgium

    Elise Huijssen-Huisman, Viola Van Gorp & Said Hachimi-Idrissi

Authors
  1. Kristof De Smet
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  2. Michel De Maeseneer
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  3. Elise Huijssen-Huisman
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  4. Viola Van Gorp
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  5. Said Hachimi-Idrissi
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  6. Caroline Ernst
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Michel De Maeseneer.

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De Smet, K., De Maeseneer, M., Huijssen-Huisman, E. et al. A rare cause of dyspnea due to chylothorax. Emerg Radiol 17, 503–505 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10140-010-0898-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10140-010-0898-3

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