Traumatic chylothorax in a young child: Case report and management

A chylothorax is an uncommon feature of paediatric chest trauma. Case report: We report a case of traumatic chylothorax following blunt chest trauma in an eight year-old girl with polytrauma after being hit by a motor vehicle. She was initially found to have a bilateral frontal skull fracture extending into the left parietal area, pulmonary contusions, left posterior rib fractures, left clavicular fracture and a degloving injury of her left foot. On the fifth day of her admission she developed progressive dyspnoea with signs of a pleural effusion, which was confirmed radiologically and drained by tube thoracostomy. Biochemical analysis confirmed chylothorax, which was managed conservatively with a fat free diet. The chest tube was removed after it stopped draining over 20 mL per 12 hours and she made a full recovery. Discussion: Initial management of chylothorax is conservative with tube thoracostomy drainage and fat free diet. Traumatic chylothroax is a rare complication following chest trauma and can take days to develop and to become clinically apparent. It is therefore important to be vigilant for potential late com- plications in blunt chest trauma in children, especially if there are extensive rib fractures, a sign of major transmission of force to the thorax