A fascinating presentation of hepatic hydrothorax

Hepatic hydrothorax in a child and its management

Hepatic hydrothorax is a rare complication of portal hypertension. The optimal treatment for this condition is liver transplantation. Liver transplantation is significantly more manageable in children who weigh more than 8 kg. Here, an implantable pleural access device was used in a 5-month-old infant for painless iterative punctures to relieve respiratory symptoms, while waiting for liver transplantation and the patient's growth. The patient underwent successful transplantation 3 months later with a more optimal weight.

Bi-directional hepatic hydrothorax

A 59-year-old male with alcoholic cirrhosis presented to our hospital with an acutely painful umbilical hernia, and 4 mo of exertional dyspnea. He was noted to be tachypneic and hypoxic. He had a massive right sided pleural effusion with leftward mediastinal shift and gross ascites, with a tense, fluid-filled, umbilical hernia. Emergent paracentesis with drain placement and a large volume thoracentesis were performed. Despite improvement in dyspnea and drainage of 15 L of ascitic fluid, the massive transudative pleural effusion remained largely unchanged. He underwent a repeat large volume thoracentesis on hospital day 4. The patient subsequently developed a tension pneumothorax, which resulted in a dramatic reduction in the effusion. A chest tube was placed and serial radiographs demonstrated resolution of the pneumothorax but recurrence of the effusion. The radiographs illustrate the movement of fluid between the peritoneal and pleural cavities. In this case, the mechanism of pleural effusion was confirmed to be a hepatic hydrothorax via an unintended tension pneumothorax. Methods to elucidate a hepatic hydrothorax include Tc99m or indocyanine green injection into the ascitic fluid followed by its demonstration above the diaphragm. The unintended tension pneumothorax in this case additionally demonstrates bi-directional flow across the diaphragm.

The curious right-sided predominance of peritoneal dialysis-related hydrothorax

A known complication of peritoneal dialysis is the movement of dialysate into the pleural space, termed hydrothorax. Peritoneal dialysis-related hydrothorax is almost uniformly right-sided and represents one of many presentations of the porous diaphragm syndrome. In addition to diaphragm porosity, the inherent intestinal circulation, lower hydrostatic pressure in the right upper quadrant and liver capsule may contribute to this right-sided predominance. Similar right-sided presentations have been described in Meigs syndrome, bilious effusions with gastric or duodenal perforations, hepatic hydrothorax and nephrotic syndrome-related chylothorax. PD-related hydrothorax can be repaired by pleurodesis or video-assisted thoracoscopy followed by resumption of peritoneal dialysis.