Superior vena cava obstruction secondary to mediastinal lymphadenopathy in a patient with cystic fibrosis.

Abstract

Superior vena cava (SVC) obstruction most often is a complication of malignant tumors such as lung cancer or lymphoma. The common use of long-term indwelling central venous catheters also has added to the prevalence of SVC obstruction. This report describes the first case of SVC obstruction in a patient with cystic fibrosis due to extrinsic compression from benign reactive mediastinal lymphadenopathy. Although in these circumstances intravascular thrombosis should be ruled out, extrinsic compression from mediastinal lymphadenopathy should be considered.