Massive Right-sided Pleural Effusion due to Pancreaticopleural Fistula: A Rare Case Report

Pancreaticopleural Fistula (PPF), a rare occurrence, is characterised by an abnormal connection between pleural and peritoneal cavity. It forms usually due to the rupture of pancreatic pseudocyst. Pancreatic pseudocyst is formed due to the repeated episodes of acute or chronic pancreatitis. Most pancreatic pathologies, such as acute and chronic pancreatitis, cause clinically insignificant effusions that resolve with disease control, whereas PPF causes massive effusion and is thus rarely considered as a cause of massive pleural effusion due to its low incidence. PPF are most common in middle-aged alcoholic males and typically present as massive recurrent left-sided pleural effusions. In the present case, a 50-year-old male presented to the Department of Respiratory Medicine with the complaint of right-sided chest pain, progressive breathlessness, abdominal pain and loss of appetite. Patient was labourer by occupation, chronic alcoholic, non diabetic. Contrast Enhanced Computed Tomography (CECT) thorax with abdomen showed massive right-sided pleural effusion and pancreatitis. A diagnosis of PPF was confirmed as its cause. Pleural fluid analysis for elevated amylase, confirms the diagnosis and investigations such as CECT thorax and abdomen, Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography (ERCP), or Magnetic Resonance Cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) may be used to establish the fistulous communication between the pancreas and the pleural cavity. PPF should always be considered as a differential diagnosis while finding a cause for right-sided pleural effusion.