A case of idiopathic chylothorax in a 7 year old Drahthaar

Abstract

Sara, a 7 year old spayed female Drahthaar, presented to the emergency service at Cornell University Hospital for Animals with a chief complaint of respiratory distress and pleural effusion. When she first presented to her local veterinarian, Sara had a one month history of loose stools, decreased appetite, and increasingly labored breathing. All diagnostics run by her local veterinarian at this time were within normal limits. Allergies were suspected to be the cause of Sara's symptoms and she was started on prednisone. Sara was taken back to her local veterinarian because of her continuously worsening respiratory distress. Thoracic radiographs revealed significant pleural effusion. A thoracocentesis was performed and 900 ml of cloudy pink fluid was removed from Sara's pleural cavity. She was then referred to Cornell. On presentation, Sara was slightly depressed and showed a mild increase in respiratory effort and rate. Auscultation of her lungs revealed muffled lung sounds in the ventral lung fields and increased lung sounds in the dorsal lung fields. Diagnostic tests were run to try to determine the cause of Sara's pleural effusion and subsequent respiratory distress.