thoracic empyema

Our study aimed to assess the benefit of intrapleural fibrinolysis before resorting to surgery to treat complicated parapneumonic effusion and empyema. We conducted a retrospective and descriptive study, including all patients hospitalized in the intensive care unit (ICU) of the Abderhaman Mami hospital, Tunisia for empyema treated with instillation of intrapleural fibrinolytic therapy between the 1st January 2000 and 31st December 2016. In all patients, empyema was diagnosed on clinical features, imaging findings (chest X-ray, thoracic echography and/or computed tomography (CT), and microbiological data...

Empyema resulting as a complication of penetrating diaphragmatic injuries is a subject that requires further investigation, and the aim of this study was to determine the risk factors associated with empyema in patients with penetrating trauma. Consecutive adult trauma patients from a level 1 trauma center were searched for penetrating diaphragm injuries. Data were collected on patient demographics, pre-existing conditions, injury type and severity, hospital interventions, in-hospital complications, and outcomes...

OBJECTIVES: Postoperative empyema is a severe, potentially lethal complication also present, but poorly studied in patients undergoing surgery for pleural mesothelioma. We aimed to analyse which perioperative characteristics might be associated with an increased risk for postoperative empyema. METHODS: From September 1999 to February 2023 a retrospective analysis of consecutive patients undergoing surgery for pleural mesothelioma at the University Hospital of Zurich was performed...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Medical thoracoscopy (MT) is an endoscopic technique performed by interventional pulmonologists with a favorable safety profile and few contraindications, providing diagnostic and therapeutic intervention in a single sitting. This narrative review was designed to summarize the therapeutic role of MT based on the latest results from the available literature. METHODS: Pertinent literature published in English, relative to human studies, between 2010-2022 was searched in Medline/PubMed and Cochrane databases...

BACKGROUND: Small-bore chest drains are now the most common drains for treating pleural effusion (PE), but knowledge on complications is limited especially in malignant PE and empyema. We aimed to evaluate rate of complications of ultrasound guided small bore chest drains [6-10 French (F)] by PE etiology. METHODS: Retrospective cohort study of 484 chest drains inserted in 330 adults in a Swedish department 2018-2020. Rate of complications (blockage, dislocation, infection, or misplacement) and repeat intervention (new drain within 2 weeks or surgery) was analyzed by effusion type (organ failure, parapneumonic, malignant, empyema, other, unknown), age, sex, seniority of radiologist, and bore size using multivariable logistic regression...

BACKGROUND: This study investigated the role of the thoracic skeletal muscle mass as a marker of sarcopenia on postoperative mortality in pleural empyema. METHODS: All consecutive patients (n = 103) undergoing surgery for pleural empyema in a single tertiary referral center between January 2020 and December 2022 were eligible for this study. Thoracic skeletal muscle mass index (TSMI) was determined from preoperative computed tomography scans. The impact of TSMI and other potential risk factors on postoperative in-hospital mortality was retrospectively analyzed...

Empyema is the infection of the fluid in the pleural space due to different causes. The most common cause of empyema in children is parapneumonic effusion. Although its frequency has decreased significantly with the use of antibiotics, it is still a significant cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. The main aim in the treatment of empyema is to drain the pleural cavity to provide reexpansion of the compressed lung, to treat the parenchymal infection with appropriate antibiotic therapy, and to prevent complications that may develop in the acute and chronic periods...

Empyema necessitans (EN) is a rare complication of empyema, in which pus accumulates within the pleural space and spreads through the chest wall, leading to the formation of a subcutaneous abscess. This condition presents significant diagnostic and therapeutic challenges due to its rarity and potential for serious complications. Here, we present the case of an 8-year-old boy with a history of parapneumonic effusion that was incompletely treated due to a lack of fibrinolytic agent injection. He presented with fever, chills, a productive cough, and left-sided chest pain with yellowish purulent secretions from the left chest wall...

PURPOSE: Air leaks are common after pulmonary surgery. Prolonged air leaks (PALs) may persist through discharge and often are managed with one-way valve devices (OWD). We sought to determine the course and complications of patients discharged with OWDs, risk factors for complications, and to evaluate the utility of clamp trials before chest tube (CT) removal. METHODS: Single-institution, retrospective review of patients discharged with a OWD after pulmonary surgery between 2008 and 2022...

A mid-60s female with known primary progressive multiple sclerosis was admitted to our hospital with aspiration pneumonia. Due to reduced consciousness, a nasogastric (NG) tube was inserted for feeding. A chest x-ray (CXR) report from a thoracic radiologist confirmed an atypical tip position due to a hiatus hernia but concluded it was almost certainly within the stomach. However, after deteriorating on feed commencement, a CT scan of the chest confirmed the tube had perforated the nasopharynx and run parallel to the oesophagus through the mediastinum into the right pleural space...

Hepatic hydrothorax (HH) refers to the presence of a pleural effusion that develops in the context of underlying liver cirrhosis and portal hypertension. It carries a high risk of morbidity and mortality, with a median survival of 8-12 months. Diagnosis is usually confirmed by pleural aspiration, demonstrating typical features of a transudative effusion in the absence of co-existent cardio-pulmonary or renal pathology. The clinical presentation is quite variable, with some patients remaining relatively asymptomatic in the presence of small or incidental effusions, while others present with frank respiratory failure requiring pleural intervention...

Empyema necessitans is characterized by an empyema that extends from the lung pleura into the chest wall and underlying tissue. We present a rare case of Streptococcus agalactiae (Group B) empyema necessitans in an adult male. This case highlights the diagnosis and management of empyema necessitans in the modern era.

Clostridia perfringens infection outside the gastrointestinal system is rare. Here, we report on a 75-year-old man with history of end-stage renal disease presenting after a syncopal event with lactic acidosis, leukocytosis, and mild hyper-bilirubinemia. Chest imaging revealed a loculated, left-sided pleural effusion; diagnostic thoracentesis identified Clostridia perfringens , consistent with an empyema. Video-assisted thoracic left lung decortication was performed; tissue culture also speciated Clostridia perfringens ...

KEY CLINICAL MESSAGE: Ultrasound-assisted small catheter placement may be considered in cases where computed tomography guidance is unavailable, and ultrasound can identify pleural effusions clearly, even in cases where empyema is localized solely on the dorsal side. ABSTRACT: Thoracic catheter insertion for empyema can be challenging when the pleural effusion is localized dorsally and computed tomography guidance is unavailable. We report the case of a 40-year-old man with acute dorsal bacterial empyema who underwent successful ultrasound-assisted catheter placement in an orthopneic position...

Thoracic empyema is a collection of infectious material (pus) in the pleural cavity. Salmonella enterica species rarely cause pleuropulmonary infections. This condition poses a significant challenge in diagnosis and management due to its atypical presentation and potential for severe complications. This is a case of an immunocompromised host with glioblastoma who presented with a large loculated fluid collection in the left pleural space. The patient received broad-spectrum antibiotics and underwent urgent chest tube placement and drainage of pus, which grew Salmonella enterica subspecies enterica...

Pulmonary infections, such as tuberculosis, can result in numerous pleural complications including empyemas, pneumothoraces with broncho-pleural fistulas, and persistent air leak. While definitive surgical interventions are often initially considered, management of these complications can be particularly challenging if a patient has an active infection and is not a surgical candidate. Autologous blood patch pleurodesis and endobronchial valve placement have both been described in remedying persistent air leaks (PALs) effectively and safely...

INTRODUCTION: Empyema thoracis is a debilitating disease that still constitutes a significant burden among thoracic surgical diseases in our environment. It sometimes occurs secondary to ruptured lung abscess with varying degrees of lung destruction and bronchopleural fistula. CASE REPORT: A 65-year-old woman presented to our unit with a two-month history of cough which subsequently became productive of purulent sputum and posture-dependent, and fever, with progressive dyspnea on exertion...

An 81-year-old man living in South Korea was referred to the pulmonology clinic because of abnormal findings at routine surveillance CT. His past medical history included right radical nephroureterectomy for ureteral cancer in 2016, transurethral resection of a bladder tumor in 2015, and tuberculous pleurisy in his third decade of life that was complicated by a chronic calcified empyema. He had been doing well clinically until 6 months prior, when he presented to an outside hospital with progressive right-sided chest pain and dyspnea and was found to have active tuberculosis...

BACKGROUND: Complicated parapneumonic effusions and empyemas are common presentations that carry significant morbidity and mortality. Standard therapy includes antibiotics and chest tube placement. Due to the nature of the fluid, it is often difficult to drain completely using a chest tube. As outlined in multiple studies, intrapleural tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) and dornase alfa (DNase) are effective at helping clear these effusions and the avoidance of surgery. Despite research to better understand the effectiveness of the treatment and possible side effects, there continues to be a lack of data on potential systemic effects...

Pseudopropionibacterium propionicum ( P.p .) is an anaerobic, Gram-positive, branching beaded rod that is a component of the human microbiome. An infection of the thoracic cavity with P.p. can mimic tuberculosis (TB), nocardiosis, and malignancy. We present a case of a 77-year-old male who presented with dyspnea and a productive cough who was initially misdiagnosed with TB based on positive acid-fast staining of a pleural biopsy specimen and an elevated adenosine deaminase level of the pleural fluid. He was then diagnosed with nocardiosis based on the Gram stain of his pleural fluid that showed a Gram-positive beaded and branching rod...