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Case Reports
. 2016;55(24):3641-3644.
doi: 10.2169/internalmedicine.55.7250. Epub 2016 Dec 15.

Chylothorax Associated with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia

Osamu Kohmoto  1 , Kazumi Kawabe, Hideya Ono, Ryuta Yanagimoto, Junji Arimoto, Atsutoshi Hatada, Tadatoshi Suruda, Yoshiaki Minakata
Affiliations
Case Reports

Chylothorax Associated with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia

Osamu Kohmoto et al. Intern Med. 2016.

Abstract

An 80-year-old man who had suffered from chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and achieved complete remission was admitted to our hospital due to right pleural effusion. Thoracentesis revealed that the effusion was chyle. Lymphoscintigraphy showed an obstruction of the thoracic duct below the sternum. CD45-gated flow cytometry of the pleural effusion showed elevated numbers of CD5- and CD23-positive lymphocytes and a high serum level of soluble interleukin-2 receptor. These results suggested that the chylothorax was caused by the obstruction of the thoracic duct by the sludging of either abnormal lymphocytes of CLL or transformed malignant lymphoma cells.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Chest X-ray and CT images on admission.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Appearance of pleural effusion.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Lymphoscintigraphy of the patient, left: anterior image; right: posterior image. Arrows indicate part of the obstruction.
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
CD45-gated flow cytometry of pleural effusion. CD5: 99.5%, CD23: 70.0%, CD20: 45.3%, CD10: 0.5%.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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