title: Chylothorax in congenital diaphragmatic hernia.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Following surgical repair of congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH), chylothorax can be present in 7-28% of the cases. It has been associated with prenatal diagnosis, the use of ECMO and prosthetic patches during reparatory surgery. The objective is to present a neonatal unit experience in handling this complication and the search for predictive factors for its appearance in our patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  A retrospective study was carried out between 2003 and 2009.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We found 65 patients with CDH, of which 7 (10.8%) developed a chylothorax, 5 responded to drainage and diet restriction. Octreotide (OCT) was used in two cases that did not respond to the usual treatment. OCT was successful with one patient, while surgical resolution of the chylothorax was necessary in the other. Two patients died, none of them during treatment of chylothorax. We did not find a significant association between chylothorax and the variables studied in these patients.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Chylothorax is a common complication following CDH repair. We have a low rate of this complication in our institution. Conservative management is an appropriate approach for all patients; OCT could be an alternative to avoid surgery. We did not find any predictive factors for chylothorax in our series.
authors.affiliation: Pediatric Surgery Department, School of Medicine, Pontificia Universidad Católica of Chile, Santiago, Chile. azavala@med.puc.cl
authors.forename: Alejandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zavala
authors.forename: José-Manuel
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Campos
authors.forename: Cecilia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Riutort
authors.forename: Ilona
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Skorin
authors.forename: Loreto
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Godoy
authors.forename: Miriam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Faunes
authors.forename: Javier
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kattan
mesh_terms: D002916:Chylothorax / Q000209:etiology / Q000401:mortality / Q000628:therapy*; D004032:Diet; D004322:Drainage; D015199:Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation; D005260:Female; D005765:Gastrointestinal Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006548:Hernia, Diaphragmatic / Q000601:surgery*; D065630:Hernias, Diaphragmatic, Congenital; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007902:Length of Stay / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D015282:Octreotide / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000628:therapy*; D012189:Retrospective Studies
chemical_list: D005765:Gastrointestinal Agents; D015282:Octreotide