How efficacious are Octreotide and Somatostatin in the management of chylothorax in congenital cardiac surgical patients?

A best evidence topic in cardiac surgery was written according to a structured protocol. The question addressed was how efficacious are Octreotide and Somatostatin in the management of chylothorax in congenital cardiac surgical patients. Altogether >55 papers were found using the reported search, of which 8 represented the best evidence to answer the clinical question. The authors, journal, date and country of publication, patient group studied, study type, relevant outcomes and results of these papers are tabulated. The comparative data on LOS and chylothorax duration are mixed though interpretation is difficult since Octreotide has been instituted belatedly from the onset of chylothorax in multiple instances. There is also preliminary evidence to suggest that responders to Somatostatin and Octreotide are affected by single-ventricle physiology and CVP levels. Meanwhile, non-responders tend to have higher mortality and may merit earlier surgical intervention. The included studies thus far have significant limitations such as low-level evidence study design, selection bias, variability in duration and dosage of therapy and heterogenous comparative arms. Notwithstanding these limitations, Octreotide has shown to be an useful adjunct treatment in reducing chylothorax volume especially in patients with higher output chylothorax (>40 ml/kg/h) after the failure of conservative management.