Thai J Pediatr 2011; 50 : 295-303.
Abstract :

Background:  Chylothorax is an uncommon condition occurring in infants and children. It is commonly resulted from post-intrathoracic surgery.  The purpose of this study is to determine clinical and laboratory features, etiologies, therapeutic  management, outcomes and incidentc of chylothorax in children undergoing cardiothoracic surgery.
Methods:  A retrospective review was conducted from January 2002 to February 2009. The medical records of  pediatric patients who were diagnosed as chylothorax and admitted to Chiang Mai University Hospital were reviewed.          
Results: There were 19 cases of chylothorax. The median age was 3.5 years (range 2 months to 13 years). Ninetyfive percents of them occurring after cardiothoracic surgery for correction of congenital heart diseases. The incidence of chylothorax after cardiothoracic surgery was 1%.  The total cardiac correction and bidirectional cavopulmonary shunt were common etiologies. The median period after surgery to diagnosis was 6 day (range 1-42 days). For characteristics of chylous effusion, most of fluids were milky appearance, triglyceride contents ranged from 95-1,725 mg/dL, protein contents ranged from 0.1-7.1 gm/dL.  All of them had dietary restricin whhc the median dration of nothing per oral (NPO) time was 4 days (range 1-31 days). The median time of parenteral nutrition given  was 9 days (range 1-41 days).  The median duration for complete treatment after diagnosis was 22 days (range 8-68 days). Most of patients were response to supportive treatment. However, 2 cases had recurrence and were improved after supportive treatment. Two children were successful treated by octreotide.  None of these children  underwent surgical treatment.
Conclusion: We reported the characteristics, management, and outcomes of patients with chylothorax. Knowing these features would help us to develop clinical guideline for management of patients with chylothorax in the future.