Chylothorax Due to Weight Lifting: A Rare Etiology

Abstract

Chylothorax cases are associated with several etiologies. Non-Hodgkin lymphoma and intrathoracic surgical trauma are the most frequent reasons, but approximately 15% of the cases are idiopathic. Idiopathic chylothorax is thought to be related to minor trauma, and damage above the fifth thoracic vertebra is known to lead to left-sided effusion. In this report, we describe a left-sided chylothorax with an etiology that was finally identified by an in-depth interrogation of the patient's past medical history. Several days previously, while he was weight training with his left arm, he experienced serious pain in his scalenus anterior muscle area. We thought that overstretching of the subclavious and anterior scalenus muscle might have led to the rupture of the left lymphatic duct. Traumatic chylothorax after weight lifting is a rare entity. Awareness and a high degree of suspicion are important in cases of unusual pleural effusion.

Keywords

• pleural effusion
• scalene muscle; traumatic chylothorax.