title: Chyliform effusion without pleural thickening in a patient with rheumatoid arthritis: A case report.
abstract: Pseudochylothorax, also known as chyliform effusion rich in cholesterol crystals, is a rare entity that sometimes occurs in long-standing rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and is usually associated with thickened pleura. There have only been a few case reports in the literature on pseudochylothorax unassociated with pleural thickening and with a short duration of articular symptoms in patients with RA. We report the case of a 70-year-old male patient with a history of RA and heart failure due to severe aortic stenosis, who presented with signs and symptoms of decompensated heart failure due to a moderate right-sided pleural effusion that was consequently proved to be pseudochylothorax unassociated with pleural thickening on chest computed tomography (CT) scan. The patient's outcome was favorable after thoracocentesis was carried out and leflunomide was added to the standard heart failure treatment.
authors.affiliation: Department of 2nd Medical Clinic, Division of Internal Medicine, "Iuliu Hatieganu" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
authors.forename: Crina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Muresan
authors.affiliation: Departement of Cardiology, Rehabilitation Hospital, Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
authors.forename: Lucian
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Muresan
authors.affiliation: Department of 2nd Medical Clinic, Division of Internal Medicine, "Iuliu Hatieganu" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
authors.forename: Ioana
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Grigorescu
authors.affiliation: Department of 2nd Medical Clinic, Division of Internal Medicine, "Iuliu Hatieganu" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
authors.forename: Dan L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Dumitrascu
keywords: Cholesterol crystal; chyliform effusion; pseudochylothorax; rheumatoid arthritis; thickened pleura