Comparison of the clinical characteristics of congenital chylothorax in preterm and term infants / 中国新生儿科杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To compare the clinical characteristics of congenital chylothorax in preterm and term infants.Method:From January 2011 to December 2019, the clinical data of infants with congenital chylothorax admitted to our hospital were retrospectively analyzed. The infants were assigned into preterm group (<37 weeks) and term group (≥37 weeks) according to their gestational age. The general information, clinical manifestations, laboratory results, treatment and prognosis of the two groups were compared.Result:A total of 34 infants with congenital chylothorax were included, including 11 premature infants and 23 term infants. No significant differences existed in gender, delivery mode, prenatal diagnosis of pleural effusion, congenital heart disease/chromosome abnormality, birth asphyxia, dyspnea, fetal edema, and location of effusion between the two groups ( P>0.05). Compared with term group, preterm group had significantly fewer leukocytes [3 245(1 007, 7 403)×10 6/L vs. 10 214(6 233,16 458)×10 6/L] and lower protein level [(28.1±7.6) g/L vs. (33.3±6.3) g/L] in the pleural fluid ( P<0.05). No significant differences existed in the proportion of pleural lymphocytes between the two groups ( P>0.05). The proportion of mechanical ventilation (MV) in the preterm group was statistically higher than that the term group [100%(11/11) vs. 65.2%(15/23)], and the duration of MV was statistically longer than the term group [(16(10,25) d) vs. (1(0,11) d)] ( P<0.05). No significant differences existed between the two groups in the application of other treatment options (thoracentesis/drainage, fasting, octreotide and erythromycin pleural injection), time needed for the disappearance of effusion, duration of hospital stay and cure/improvement rate ( P>0.05). Conclusion:Preterm infants may have lower leukocyte count and protein level in the pleural effusion than the term infants. Both preterm and term infants have higher proportion of lymphocytes in the pleural effusion fluid. Although most preterm infants need ventilator support after delivery, most of them achieve complete remission after conservative treatment and the overall prognosis is as good as term infants.