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Abstract
A female patient in her mid-50s presented with left-sided effusion in the context of decompensated cirrhosis secondary to alcoholic hepatitis. She had a pre-existing injury to her left hemidiaphragm following a fall 2 years previously, at which point she had also developed a left-sided effusion. The diagnosis of hepatic hydrothorax (HH) was made following pleural fluid aspiration. Recurrent thoracocentesis was not sufficient to manage the effusion and diuretic use was limited by hyponatraemia. An indwelling pleural catheter (IPC) was subsequently inserted to facilitate routine drainage and management in the outpatient setting. To our knowledge, this is the first instance of IPC insertion for HH in Ireland.
- Gastroenterology
- Cirrhosis
- Alcoholic liver disease
- Palliative care
- Palliative procedures
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Footnotes
Contributors AH, MMN and EMC were responsible for drafting of the text, sourcing and editing of clinical images, investigation of the results, drawing original diagrams and algorithms, and critical revision for important intellectual content. AH, MMN and EMC gave final approval of the manuscript. AH acted as guarantor for this case report.
Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.
Case reports provide a valuable learning resource for the scientific community and can indicate areas of interest for future research. They should not be used in isolation to guide treatment choices or public health policy.
Competing interests None declared.
Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.