title: Spontaneous chylothorax complicating small cell lung cancer - Review of aetiology and diagnosis.
abstract: We report the first case of spontaneous chylothorax complicating small cell lung cancer. A 52 year old female presented with exertional dyspnoea, left-sided chest and neck pain, and dysphagia. The chest X-ray on admission revealed a large left-sided pleural effusion. A subsequent CT chest showed a large anterior mediastinal mass with a left brachiocephalic and jugular vein thrombosis. The patient underwent medical thoracoscopy with chest drain insertion, which drained pleural fluid high in triglycerides, consistent with a chylothorax. Due to its uncommon nature, the management of chylothorax is not well defined. Alongside the case report, we provide a review of aetiology, mechanism and diagnosis with a brief summary of treatment options.
authors.affiliation: John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hanina
authors.affiliation: Milton Keynes University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Vivekananthan
authors.affiliation: Milton Keynes University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Randhawa
authors.affiliation: Milton Keynes University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bhattacharya
authors.affiliation: Milton Keynes University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Thomas
authors.affiliation: Milton Keynes University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kavidasan
keywords: Chylothorax; Small cell lung carcinoma