title: Pancreaticothoracic fistula presenting with hemoptysis and pneumothorax in a chronic alcoholic patient.
abstract: Pancreaticothoracic fistula is a rare complication of acute or chronic alcoholic pancreatitis. It may present with various symptoms, like dyspnea, abdominal pain, cough, chest pain, fever, back pain, hemoptysis, fatigue, or orthopnea. Pancreaticothoracic fistula can be detected by magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP), endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP), or computed tomography. MRCP has high sensitivity and fewer side effects, and thus it has recently been recommended as the first choice for the detection of pancreaticothoracic fistula. On the other hand, ERCP enables the detection and treatment of pancreaticothoracic fistula and allows for stent insertion; for this reason it is a commonly used modality in pancreaticothoracic fistula cases. Herein, the authors describe a case of pancreaticothoracic fistula detected by ERCP and MRCP that manifested only respiratory symptoms, namely hemoptysis and pneumothorax without abdominal pain, which commonly accompanies pancreatitis.
authors.affiliation: Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Inha University College of Medicine, Incheon, Korea.
authors.forename: Si Nae
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Inha University College of Medicine, Incheon, Korea.
authors.forename: Kyung Hee
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Inha University College of Medicine, Incheon, Korea.
authors.forename: Seok
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.affiliation: Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Inha University College of Medicine, Incheon, Korea.
authors.forename: Hae Sung
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Nam
authors.affiliation: Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Inha University College of Medicine, Incheon, Korea.
authors.forename: Jae Hwa
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.affiliation: Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Inha University College of Medicine, Incheon, Korea.
authors.forename: Jeong Seon
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Ryu
authors.affiliation: Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Inha University College of Medicine, Incheon, Korea.
authors.forename: Seung Min
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Kwak
keywords: Cholangiopancreatography, Endoscopic Retrograde; Cholangiopancreatography, Magnetic Resonance; Hemoptysis; Pancreatic Fistula; Pneumothorax