TITLE:
Congenital Chylothorax Treated with Oral Sildenafil—Case Report from Nigeria and Review of Literature
AUTHORS:
Chinyere C. Uzodimma, Saheed B. Sanni, Deborah A. Madise-Wobo, Charles C. Uzodimma
KEYWORDS:
Chylothorax, Congenital, Sildenafil, Children
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Pediatrics,
Vol.13 No.2,
March
7,
2023
ABSTRACT: Congenital chylothorax, a
condition in which chyle accumulates in the pleural cavity, is extremely rare. The
reported incidence is 1 in 24,000 births. Medical treatment using octreotide as
well as chemical and surgical pleurodesis has been reported, but also few reports on the
successful use of Sildenafil exists. We herein report a case of congenital chylothorax referred to our
Hospital at 7 days-old.
Sildenafil was introduced on day 6 post intubation. Before the introduction of
sildenafil, the peak total daily drainage was 106 ml/kg/day (340 mls/day), and after sildenafil was introduced, the
total daily drainage dropped progressively to 10 ml/kg/day by day 11 post intubation. This case
report highlights the successful use of oral Sildenafil for treatment of
congenital chylothorax and also peculiarities of management related to a
resource- constrained
developing country setting in Africa.