| Title |
Chylothorax in thyroid surgery: a very rare case and systematic review of the literature
|
|---|---|
| Published in |
Journal of Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery, October 2016
|
| DOI | 10.1186/s40463-016-0166-y |
| Pubmed ID | |
| Authors |
Verena Merki, Juliane Pichler, Roland Giger, Georgios Mantokoudis |
| Abstract |
Chylothorax is a very rare but major complication in thyroid surgery and should be apparent to clinicians in this field. We report a case with chylothrax after thyroid surgery in our department that drew our attention. Systematic review of the literature to evaluate the incidence and the contributing factors of chylothorax after thyroid surgery. Database (PubMed) and hand searches to identify patients with thyroid surgery and postoperative chylothorax. Keywords included chylothorax, thyroidectomy, thyroid surgery and complications. Two independent reviewers screened studies against inclusion and exclusion criteria. Patient characteristics, risk factors, symptoms, treatments and etiopathogenesis were investigated. We identified 13 articles in the literature describing 19 patients with chylothorax after thyroidectomy and described our own case. Ninety percent of the patients underwent thyroidectomy for thyroid cancer. Sixteen patients (80 %) underwent thyroidectomy with at least a left lateral neck dissection, 2 patients (10 %) underwent thyroidectomy with sternotomy, and in the remaining 2 patients (10 %), thyroidectomy with lateral neck dissection on both sides was performed with partial sternotomy. Our calculated incidence for chylothorax with total thyroidectomy and neck dissection was 1.85 %; for a thoracic approach the calculated incidence was 7.3 %. There are no reports of chylothorax after thyroidectomy without at least a left lateral neck dissection due to advanced thyroid cancer and/or sternotomy due to the thyroid size. The extension of thyroid surgery seems to be the main risk factor in developing chylothorax either through direct surgical trauma or through increased intraductal pressure after thoracic duct ligation. An early diagnosis of chylothorax may avoid severe metabolic or cardiopulmonary complications. |
X Demographics
The data shown below were collected from the profiles of 4 X users who shared this research output. Click here to find out more about how the information was compiled.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 3 | 75% |
| Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of | 1 | 25% |
Demographic breakdown
| Type | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Members of the public | 2 | 50% |
| Science communicators (journalists, bloggers, editors) | 2 | 50% |
Mendeley readers
The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 39 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Unknown | 39 | 100% |
Demographic breakdown
| Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Student > Master | 7 | 18% |
| Other | 5 | 13% |
| Student > Bachelor | 4 | 10% |
| Researcher | 3 | 8% |
| Lecturer | 2 | 5% |
| Other | 9 | 23% |
| Unknown | 9 | 23% |
| Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Medicine and Dentistry | 24 | 62% |
| Unspecified | 1 | 3% |
| Agricultural and Biological Sciences | 1 | 3% |
| Computer Science | 1 | 3% |
| Unknown | 12 | 31% |
Attention Score in Context
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 3. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 27 October 2019.
All research outputs
#14,334,632
of 25,457,297 outputs
Outputs from Journal of Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery
#211
of 629 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#164,780
of 324,217 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Journal of Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery
#5
of 11 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 25,457,297 research outputs across all sources so far. This one is in the 43rd percentile – i.e., 43% of other outputs scored the same or lower than it.
So far Altmetric has tracked 629 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a little more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 5.1. This one has gotten more attention than average, scoring higher than 66% of its peers.
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We're also able to compare this research output to 11 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has gotten more attention than average, scoring higher than 54% of its contemporaries.