A term newborn was admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit immediately after the birth, with respiratory distress due to congenital pneumonia. With progression of respiratory symptoms, empyema thoracis was diagnosed due to the right massive purulent pleural effusion in chest X ray. Treatment was fulfilled by ventilator support and pus drainage by means of two chest tubes and appropriate an...

STUDY OBJECTIVES The objective of this study was to determine the impact of the timing of chest tube insertion on outcome for the treatment of empyema, using a new animal model of empyema. DESIGN A prospective, controlled randomized, blinded design was used. SETTING The study was conducted in an animal research laboratory. PATIENTS OR PARTICIPANTS Sixty-six 2- to 3-kg rabbits were used in...

STUDY OBJECTIVES Previous articles have promoted the early use of thoracotomy and decortication for refractory empyema. This study examines thoracoscopy and decortication at the time of initial chest tube placement in pediatric patients with parapneumonic empyema. DESIGN We reviewed the medical records of 16 consecutive patients who were children with parapneumonic empyema. RESULTS Thirteen...

Background: Pleural empyema is a collection of purulent exudate between the lungs and the chest wall. Despite the importance of the disease in children, no study has investigated it in Mazandaran province, Iran. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence, clinical manifestations, diagnosis, treatment and its outcome in children referring to hospitals of Mazandaran during 12 years. Ma...

BACKGROUND Although the incidence of serious morbidity with childhood pneumonia has decreased over time, empyema as a complication of community-acquired pneumonia continues to be an important clinical problem. We reviewed the epidemiology and clinical management of empyema at 8 pediatric hospitals in a period before the widespread implementation of universal infant heptavalent pneumococcal vacc...

Pediatric thoracostomy procedures are used in the emergency department to treat diseases of the pleural space. As children have unique thoracic anatomy and physiology, they may present with management challenges that the emergency clinician must consider. This issue reviews the use of chest tubes and pigtail catheters in pediatric patients, techniques and indications for placement, and possible...

Pleural infection with Clostridium difficile is extremely rare. A case of nosocomial empyema following chest drain insertion in a 46 year old man is described. The potential of C difficile to cause extra-intestinal infections should be recognised and its isolation from other sites should not be ignored.

ABSTRACTIntroductionEmpyema is an accumulation of pus in the pleural space. Empyema necessitans occurs when pus extends through the parietal pleura into the surrounding tissues.Case ReportWe present here a 4 month old babywith severe respiratory distress and anassociated huge boggy swelling over the left side of his chest and back. Evaluation revealed pus accumulated in the pleural space which ...

On needle aspiration, pleural fluid was viscous, for which a chest tube was inserted for drainage. Aspirated fluid was subjected to microscopic examination and culture. Gramstaining revealed many polymorphs. Patient was given i.v. amikacin and ceftazidime, but his condition did not improve. On the fifth day of admission, left thoracotomy with decortication and empyema drainage was performed. Tw...

Pleural empyema is a serious complication of pneumonia, its morbidity and mortality is important in developing country where hospital resources are limited. Different treatment strategies continue to generate controversy. We reported our experience in diagnosis and management of pleural empyema in children in a pediatric department in a development country.The early adequate surgical treatment ...