Department of Radiology, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, 107 Wenhuaxi Road, Ji'nan City, Shandong Province, China.
Eur Radiol. 2013 Mar;23(3):702-11. doi: 10.1007/s00330-012-2642-8. Epub 2012 Sep 14.
To characterise the imaging findings of patients with chylothorax and to identify the leak site using unenhanced MRI.
Seven patients with chylothorax and 30 healthy individuals (as the control group) underwent three-dimensional heavily and routine T2-weighted MRI. Morphological changes and diameters of the thoracic duct, chyloma display, and some dilated accessory lymph channels were evaluated and measured. The differences between patients and the control group were compared. The leak sites of the thoracic duct and parietal pleura were also identified.
The patients had a higher display rate of the entire thoracic duct and some accessory lymphatic channels, enlarged diameters and tortuous configuration of the thoracic duct, and existence of chylomas compared with the control group (P < 0.05). Seven leaks of the thoracic duct in five patients and five leaks of the parietal pleura in four patients were identified. Close relationships between the leak of thoracic duct and the chylomas or the meshworks of tiny lymphatics were found (P < 0.05).
Unenhanced MRI appears reliable in the detection of morphological changes of thoracic lymphatics and in the identification of chyloma and leak sites in patients with chylothorax, which helps appropriate treatment planning and follow-up.
描述乳糜胸患者的影像学表现，并利用非增强 MRI 识别漏口部位。
对 7 例乳糜胸患者和 30 名健康个体（作为对照组）进行三维重度和常规 T2 加权 MRI 检查。评估和测量胸导管的形态变化和直径、乳糜瘤显示以及一些扩张的辅助淋巴通道，并比较患者与对照组之间的差异。还确定了胸导管和壁层胸膜的漏口部位。
与对照组相比，患者的整个胸导管和一些辅助淋巴通道显示率更高，胸导管直径增大，迂曲程度增加，存在乳糜瘤（P<0.05）。5 例患者中有 7 个胸导管漏口，4 例患者中有 5 个壁层胸膜漏口。发现胸导管漏口与乳糜瘤或微小淋巴管网络之间存在密切关系（P<0.05）。
非增强 MRI 似乎可可靠地检测乳糜胸患者胸淋巴系统的形态变化，并识别乳糜瘤和漏口部位，有助于制定适当的治疗计划和随访。
