Octreotide and low-fat breast milk in postoperative chylothorax

Octreotide efficacy in the treatment of chylothoraces following cardiac surgery in infants and children

“…A search of the medical literature finds therapy was successful in 20 of 22 patients (91%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 71%-99%) treated with somatostatin or octreotide for chylothoraces following congenital heart disease surgery (5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16). In the subset treated with an octreotide infusion rather than intermittent injections of octreotide or somatostatin, therapy was successful in 12 of 13 cases (92%; 95% CI, 65%-100%).…”

Octreotide therapy in two children with intractable postoperative chylothorax

“…Sometimes postoperative chylothorax is difficult to be managed either by conventional therapies or by surgery. Octreotide, a synthetic SST analogue with the advantage of a much longer half-life (2-6 h) than SST, has been employed for similar situation as SST and recently also for treating chylothorax in pediatric patients [4]. Acclaimed positive attributes of octreotide therapy include a shorter duration of intensive care treatment, a reduction of recurrent thoracocentesis, and fewer fluid and plasma infusions, thereby reducing the risk of infection [5].…”

Chylothorax in Infants and Children

“…108 There is a report of the successful use of an enteral formula containing long-chain triglycerides, 109 and a report of the combined use of low-fat breast milk and octreotide, to treat postoperative chylothorax. 110 A more aggressive option is complete enteric rest by using total parenteral nutrition. 54 There are several intravenous lipid emulsions that are designed to be delivered directly into the blood stream: Intralipid and Liposyn.…”