A RARE CASE OF CHYLOTHORAX COMPLICATING ENDOBRONCHIAL TUBERCULOSIS

Chylothorax is the accumulation of chyle in the pleural space due to damage or blockage of the thoracic duct. Chylothorax may be caused by cardiac surgery, trauma, malignant tumors, congenital malformations, lymphangio-leiomyomatosis, sarcoidosis, hepatic cirrhosis and infection including tuberculosis. Chylothorax as the first manifestation of tuberculosis is rarely reported. Endobronchial tuberculosis is defined as tuberculosis of the tracheobronchial tree and most often a complication of primary pulmonary tuberculosis. The concomitant appearance of chylothorax and endobronchial tuberculosis in the same patient was reported once by Cakir et al. Here, we report a similar case of endobronchial tuberculosis with chylothorax in a 15 year old boy.