Low Pleural Fluid Amylase Associated With Spontaneous Rupture of the Esophagus

• All previously reported determinations of pleural fluid amylase in Boerhaave's syndrome have demonstrated elevated values. We treated a patient with Sjögren's syndrome who had a low pleural fluid amylase level and the concomitant unusual finding of leakage of esophageal contents into the right pleural space.

(Arch Intern Med 1983;143:1034-1035)