Use of octreotide in the treatment of chylopericardium

Chylopericardium involves the pericardial effusion of chyle, which can be a primary (idiopathic) or secondary condition to injury or obstruction of the thoracic duct. We present a case of isolated chylopericardium that appeared after coronary artery bypass grafting in a 46-year-old woman. After failure of the usual conservative therapy for chylopericardium, ie, pericardial drainage and a low-fat, medium-chain triglyceride diet, her treatment was completed with octreotide, a long-acting somatostatin analog. Octreotide was used subcutaneously at a 3 × 100 μg daily dose for 2 weeks. The production of pericardial fluid decreased gradually, and had normalized by the end of treatment. No side effects were evident during therapy.