Pleural effusion with dyspnea as the presenting symptom in chronic pancreatitis. A case report

A middle-aged male presented with progressive dyspnea and massive, leftsided pleural effusion. No intrathoracic cause was found, but a very high amylase activity induced suspicion of pancreatic disease. ERCP showed marked changes consistent with chronic pancreatitis in the distal pancreas. The patient recovered completely after prolonged pleural drainage and later resection of the pancreatic tail. A short review on the pertinent literature is given.