Aspergillus tracheobronchitis and Aspergillus empyema are two rare manifestations of Aspergillus infection. This case report presents a patient with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease who developed a pseudomembranous Aspergillus tracheobronchitis, bronchopleural fistula and empyema 16 months after lobectomy for an aspergilloma. Bronchoscopy proved to be important for assessment of severity. ...

BACKGROUND Tube thoracostomy (TT) is the most commonly performed surgical procedure in thoracic surgery clinics. The procedure might have to be repeated due to ineffective drainage in patients with tube malposition (TM), in whom the drain is not directed to the apex or located in the fissure. Trocar technique, which is used to prevent TM, is not recommended because of its potential for severe c...

BACKGROUND Point of injury needle thoracostomy (NT) for tension pneumothorax is potentially lifesaving. Recent data raised concerns regarding the efficacy of conventional NT devices. Owing to these considerations, the Israeli Defense Forces Medical Corps (IDF-MC) recently introduced a longer, wider, more durable catheter for the performance of rapid chest decompression. The present series repre...

At least 40% of all patients with pneumonia will have an associated pleural effusion, although a minority will require an intervention for a complicated parapneumonic effusion or empyema. All patients require medical management with antibiotics. Empyema and large or loculated effusions need to be formally drained, as well as parapneumonic effusions with a pH <7.20, glucose <3.4 mmol/l (60 mg/dl...

INTRODUCTION Establishing a boot camp curriculum is pertinent for emergency medicine (EM) residents in order to develop proficiency in a large scope of procedures and leadership skills. In this article, we describe our program's EM boot camp curriculum as well as measure the confidence levels of resident physicians through a pre- and post-boot camp survey. METHODS We designed a one-month boot...

OBJECTIVE Tube thoracostomy (TT) is a commonly performed intensive care procedure. Simulator training may be a good alternative method for TT training, compared with conventional methods such as apprenticeship and animal skills laboratory. However, there is insufficient evidence supporting use of a simulator. The aim of this study is to determine whether training with medical simulator is assoc...

UNLABELLED The aim of the paper is to observe the effectiveness of prophylactic administration of antibacterials against empyema and pneumonia after tube thoracostomy for traumatic collections. MATERIAL AND METHODS Observational retrospective study over a ten years period (2002-2011), at the Oradea County Emergency Hospital on 939 patients with chest tube drainage for traumatic haemo/pneumoth...

OBJECTIVE Surgical treatment of parapneumonic pleural effusion in children is controversial. The type of intervention is based mainly on personal experience and on the small number of reported cases. This article aims at presenting a literature review and the authorś experience in the surgical management of parapneumonic pleural effusion in children. SOURCES Data were searched in the Medline ...

Background: Pyothorax in cats is routinely managed, at least initially, with thoracic tube placement associated systemic antimicrobial administration. Traditionally, large-bore trocar-type thoracostomy tubes have preferentially been used for the drainage of thick material from pleural space. In recent years, use small-bore wire-guided drains has increased both small animals and humans. Few stud...