BACKGROUND Pleural separation, the "split pleura" sign, has been reported in patients with empyema. However, the diagnostic yield of the split pleura sign for complicated parapneumonic effusion (CPPE)/empyema and its utility for differentiating CPPE/empyema from parapneumonic effusion (PPE) remains unclear. This differentiation is important because CPPE/empyema patients need thoracic drainage. ...

thoracic surgery with poor prognosis unless treated properly. It can cause sepsis and other complications which may increase morbidity and mortality. The treatment of choices in pleural empyema are thoracentesis, intercostal tube or pleural catheter drainage, video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) and open surgery (1, 2). Tube drainage often fails if the empyema is loculated with fibrinous adhe...

Empyema, an accumulation of infected fluid in the thoracic cavity, is commonly secondary to bacterial pneumonia in children. Despite the high prevalence and availability of many medical treatment options, there is no general consensus on the optimal management approach, which would lead to full and rapid recovery. Especially, there are the big differences in treatment options for the child with...

Empyemas develop following bacterial pneumonias, thoracic trauma and surgery which are still among the common diseases, causing illness and death throughout the developing world. With the advent of potent antibiotics the mortality of empyema has been drastically reduced. In this study 52 patients (29 boys and 23 girls) with thoracic empyema were evaluated retrospectively. In this series the cau...

Pneumatocele is most often seen in children with bacterial pneumonia but also develops after blunt thoracic trauma, positive pressure ventilation, and caustic aspiration. We here describe a case of pulmonary pneumatocele in postpneumonic empyema in a child.Generally pneumatocele need not an interventional treatment and an excellent prognosis can be given with only surveillance and antibiotic if...

Blastomycosis is endemic in river valley areas of the southeastern and Midwestern United States. Pulmonary manifestations include chronic cough and pleuritic pain. Radiographic appearance of the infection can mimic bronchogenic lung carcinoma. Pleural effusion is rarely associated with this pulmonary infection, and empyema has not been previously reported. We report a case of pulmonary and pleu...