Pancreaticopleural Fistula: CT Demonstration

ABSTRACT

In patients with chronic pancreatitis, the pancreaticopleural fistula is known to cause recurrent exudative or hemorrhagic pleural effusions. These are often large in volume and require treatment, unlike the effusions in acute pancreatitis. Diagnosis can be made either by the finding of elevated pleural fluid amylase level or, using imaging studies, by the direct demonstration of the fistulous tract. We report two cases of pancreaticopleural fistula demonstrated by computed tomography.