A rare case of membranous nephropathy complicated by chylothorax
  • Abdelhadi Farouji
    Department of Internal Medicine, Saint Michael’s Medical Center, New York Medical College, Newark, USA
  • Mohammad N. Kloub
    Department of Internal Medicine, Saint Michael’s Medical Center, New York Medical College, Newark, USA
  • Ahmad W. Haddad
    Department of Internal Medicine, Saint Michael’s Medical Center, New York Medical College, Newark, USA
  • Amaar S. Ahmad
    Department of Internal Medicine, Saint Michael’s Medical Center, New York Medical College, Newark, USA
  • Priscilla Chow
    Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Saint Michael’s Medical Center, New York Medical College, Newark, USA
  • Richard Miller
    Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Saint Michael’s Medical Center, New York Medical College, Newark, USA

Keywords

Membranous nephropathy, chylothorax, nephrotic syndrome

Abstract

Background: Chylothorax can be classified into traumatic and nontraumatic based on the etiology. Nephrotic syndrome is a very rare cause of nontraumatic chylothorax in adults.
Case presentation: A 66-year-old woman with membranous nephropathy who was non-compliant with her management, presented with dyspnea, and was found to have a large right sided chylothorax. Her chylothorax was secondary to membranous nephropathy after excluding other causes, which has been rarely reported in literature.
Conclusion: This case highlights the possibility of nephrotic syndrome causing chylothorax, especially in patients with undiagnosed nephrotic syndrome or patients non-compliant with their management. When evaluating a patient with chylothorax, providers should consider nephrotic syndrome in the differential diagnosis.

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References

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    Published: 2024-06-11
    Issue: 2024: LATEST ONLINE (view)

    How to cite:
    1.
    Farouji A, Kloub MN, Haddad AW, Ahmad AS, Chow P, Miller R. A rare case of membranous nephropathy complicated by chylothorax. EJCRIM 2024;11 doi:10.12890/2024_004631.

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