Few diseases conform so seldom to their classical book diagnosis as empyema or purulent pleurisy in its various types. If even the majority of cases showed consecutive layers from below upwards on one side of the chest, of dullness with absent breath sounds and increased vocal resonance and fretnitus, aegophony, and then tubular breathing, with displacement of the heart to the opposite side, th...

117 South Korea has the highest prevalence of tuberculosis among the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development nations [1], despite the management of pulmonary tuberculosis with antituberculosis drugs. Therefore, South Korea also has a relatively high prevalence of tuberculous empyema, a complication of tuberculosis that accounts for 3%–6% of all cases of empyema [2]. A chronic, act...

BACKGROUND Clinical spectrum, microbiology and outcome of empyema thoracis are changing. Intrapleural instillation of fibrinolytic agents is being increasingly used for management of empyema thoracis. The present study was carried out to describe the clinical profile and outcome of patients with empyema thoracis including those with chronic empyema and to study the efficacy and safety of intrap...

OBJECTIVE To assess the impact of postoperative continuous pleural lavage (PCPL) after thoracotomy for the treatment of stage 2 pleural empyema in relation to postoperative length of stay and morbidity. METHODS Stage 2 pleural empyema was diagnosed with computer tomography. Conservative treatment including antibiotics and pleural aspiration was introduced. 89 patients treated for stage 2 pleu...

UNLABELLED We presented three cases of influenza-related severe pneumonia/empyema that occurred in one season. CASE 1 A 76-year-old diabetic man, developed empyema as a result of severe community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) secondary to Haemophilus influenzae, as confirmed on sputum culture. Nasal swab was positive for influenza A antigen. After drainage of empyema, intravenous peramivir and pip...

Objective: In an attempt to establish a treatment protocol for tuberculous empyema, we retrospectively reviewed our experience over a 3year period. Methods: Between January 1996 and December 1998, 26 patients (23 male and three female) with an average age of 33.8 years (range 18±61 years) presented with tuberculous empyema. The empyema was right-sided in 13, left-sided in 12 and bilateral in on...

Posttraumatic empyema is a rare complication of trauma with an incidence of 1.6-2.4% in trauma patients. However, it is rarely reported in children. We report the case of a 15-year-old boy who was involved in a traffic accident and diagnosed with a pulmonary contusion at a local hospital. Fourteen days after the accident, posttraumatic empyema thoracis and lung abscess developed with clinical p...

STUDY OBJECTIVE To investigate the efficacy of video-assisted thoracoscopic sterilization to treat patients with exacerbation of chronic empyema thoracis. DESIGN Case reports and literature review. SETTING Academic department of surgery. PATIENTS Two elderly, debilitated patients with worsening, chronic empyema thoracis as diagnosed by radiographs, CT, and thoracentesis. Both patients had...

Little is known regarding typical neuropsychological outcomes of intracranial empyema, a rare complication of sinusitis marked by accumulation of purulent material adjacent to the brain. A 15-year-old, right-handed male presented with a 3-day history of congestion, lethargy, fever, headache, dizziness, unequal pupil dilation, and right-sided facial droop. Computed tomography revealed right-side...

Few diseases conform so seldom to their classical book diagnosis as empyema or purulent pleurisy in its various types. If even the majority of cases showed consecutive layers from below upwards on one side of the chest, of dullness with absent breath sounds and increased vocal resonance and fretnitus, aegophony, and then tubular breathing, with displacement of the heart to the opposite side, th...