introduction: the treatment of complicated parapneumonic effusion (ppe) and thoracic empyema (te) is controversial; and the choice of treatment after confirming the failure of simple drainage remains unclear. the purpose of this study was to compare the outcomes of intrapleural urokinase (uk) administration and video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (vats) as initial treatment options for ppe and...

background: blind percutaneous pleural biopsy has traditionally been performed to investigate the etiology of exudative pleural effusion in which the initial thoracocentesis has been non- diagnostic. in view of the increasing use of image-guided and thoracoscopic pleural biopsies, this study examined the role of blind abrams pleural biopsy in the investigation of the exudative pleural effusion ...

To cite: Hanrahan L, Chotirmall SH, Nicholson S, et al. BMJ Case Rep Published online: [please include Day Month Year] doi:10.1136/bcr-2014207843 DESCRIPTION An 87-year-old woman presented with a 2-day history of dyspnoea, productive cough and rightsided chest discomfort. Having become increasingly lethargic over the preceding fortnight, she also noted unquantifiable weight loss over the prior ...

STUDY OBJECTIVES To assess the necessity of thoracentesis in febrile medical ICU (MICU) patients, and to evaluate the efficiency and reliability of sonographic effusion patterns for diagnosing empyema. DESIGN AND SETTING A prospective, 1-year, tertiary-care hospital study of febrile MICU patients with physical, radiographic, and ultrasonographic evidence of pleural effusion. PATIENTS During...

We read with interest the article by MOFFETT et al. [1] that was recently published in the European Respiratory Journal. In this retrospective analysis, conducted using two databases of 1,460 pneumonia patients enrolled from one single centre, the investigators studied the parapneumonic pleural effusion (PPE) linear cut-off by chest computed tomography (CCT) that indicates the need for thoracen...

introduction: medical thoracoscopy is a minimally invasive procedure for diagnosing and treating pleural diseases. despite its proven role in diagnostic and therapeutic purposes, it is infrequently used, which could be because of cost of equipment and lack of training. we analyzed our initial 3 years record of thoracoscopy at himalayan institute of medical sciences, a tertiary care center in hi...

abstract background: pleural effusion is the accumulation of excess fluid in the pleural cavity. most information available about pleural effusion is obtained from studies on adults and little evidence is available in children. therefore, it is necessary to identify the existing status and explain the disease process, signs, treatment, and prognosis. children with pleural effusion who were admi...

Background: Blind percutaneous pleural biopsy has traditionally been performed to investigate the etiology of exudative pleural effusion in which the initial thoracocentesis has been non- diagnostic. In view of the increasing use of image-guided and thoracoscopic pleural biopsies, this study examined the role of blind Abrams pleural biopsy in the investigation of the exudative pleural effusion ...