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Octreotide for Acquired Chylothorax in Pediatric Patients Post-Cardiothoracic Surgery for Congenital Heart Disease: A
A C Jenkinson1, J McGuinness2, T Prendiville3,4
1Department of Cardiology, Children's Heart Centre, Children's Health Ireland at Crumlin, Dublin, Ireland.
Insights
Octreotide effectively treats refractory chylothorax in pediatric heart surgery patients, though treatment protocols lack standardization. Further research is needed to define efficacy criteria for this life-threatening condition.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Pediatric Surgery
- Pharmacology
Background:
- Chylothorax is a critical complication following corrective congenital heart surgery in neonates and children.
- Current treatment protocols for refractory chylothoraces lack standardization, with limited data on octreotide efficacy.
Conclusions:
- Intravenous octreotide appears widely effective for refractory chylothorax post-pediatric cardiac surgery.
- Lack of standardized treatment initiation criteria and response definitions hinders definitive efficacy assessment.
- Further high-quality research is necessary to establish standardized protocols and confirm octreotide's role.
Abstract:
Chylothorax is a life-threatening complication post-corrective congenital heart surgery. Octreotide is used for treatment of refractory chylothoraces, with no standardized treatment protocol and a paucity of literature describing its efficacy. Our aim was to provide an update on the safety and efficacy of octreotide for the treatment of refractory chylothoraces in neonatal and pediatric patients' post-corrective congenital heart surgery. We performed a systematic review of PubMed, Medline, CINAHL, and Cochrane Library databases. Only intravenous octreotide treatment was included. A total of 621 patients across 27 studies were included. Studies included were 11 case series, 5 case studies, and 11 retrospective cohort studies. Variation in treatment regimens were reported. Treatment efficacy was reported in 95% (23/27) of studies. Definitions of treatment efficacy were reported in 33% (9/27) of studies. No prospective or randomized control trials were available for inclusion. Octreotide efficacy is widely reported despite a lack of standardization on criteria for treatment initiation or what defines an appropriate response to therapy.Please check and confirm whether the edit made to the article title is in order.Yes.
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