AIM To assess the evolution in management of children with parapneumonic effusion and empyema in a tertiary referral centre. METHOD We conducted a retrospective case note review of paediatric patients with parapneumonic effusion, pleural effusion and pleural empyema between December 2006 and December 2015. Digital database searches were performed to identify demographic data, referring hospit...

The treatment of complex parapneumonic effusions in children remains controversial, with some advocating less invasive, strictly medical management and others supporting a more aggressive approach of thoracotomy with or without decortication. Recent advances, including video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery and intrapleural fibrinolytic therapy, offer new options for effective treatment. We repor...

Pigtail catheter drainage is a common procedure for the treatment of pleural effusion and pneumothorax. The most common complications of pigtail catheter insertion are pneumothorax, hemorrhage and chest pains. Cerebral air embolism is rare, but often fatal. In this paper, we report a case of cerebral air embolism in association with the insertion of a pigtail catheter for the drainage of a pleu...

Pleural effusions can present in 40% of patients with pneumonia. Presence of an effusion can complicate the diagnosis as well as the management of infection in lungs and pleural space. There has been an increase in the morbidity and mortality associated with parapneumonic effusions and empyema. This calls for employment of advanced treatment modalities and development of a standardized protocol...

Aim: To determine the sensitivity and specificity of pleural fluid ADA for the diagnosis of tuberculous pleural effusion taking the cut off value of ADA as ≥ 40 mg/dl. Methods: It was a prospective, analytical study comprised of 220 patients having pleural effusion. Sputum smear examination and sputum culture for mycobacterium tuberculosis, pleural fluid examination for protein, glucose, cell c...

Background: Tuberculous, parapneumonic and traumatic loculated pleural-effusions pose therapeutic challenges due to resultant pleural-thickening and compromised lung-function for life. Tuberculosis is widely prevalent in developing countries, necessitating appropriate, effective, and economical treatment for loculated pleural-effusion to reduce the burden and sequelae. <s...

The aim of this study was to evaluate the pharmacokinetics and penetration of moxifloxacin (MXF) in patients with various types of pleural effusion. Twelve patients with empyema/parapneumonic effusion (PPE) and 12 patients with malignant pleural effusion were enrolled in the study. A single-dose pharmacokinetic study was performed after intravenous administration of 400 mg MXF. Serial plasma (P...

STUDY OBJECTIVES To study the ability of positron emission tomography (PET) using 18-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) to distinguish between benign and malignant disease in exudative pleural effusions and pleural thickening. DESIGN Prospective study of 98 consecutive patients presenting with either pleural thickening or an exudative pleural effusion. SETTING Department of pulmonary medicine of a un...

OBJECTIVE The management of parapneumonic effusions in children is controversial. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of intrapleural tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) in children who require tube thoracostomy for drainage of a complicated parapneumonic effusion. METHODS An observational cohort study was used to compare children who were treated with intr...