THE POST-OPERATIVE MANAGEMENT OF ACUTE EMPYEMA THORACIS

Empyema thoracis: management outcome.

BACKGROUND Empyema thoracis results from postpneumonic effusion of bacterial origin or trauma. If untreated it may convert to fibro-purulent or an organising stage. METHODS This study was conducted at cardiothoracic unit of Ayub Teaching Hospital Abbottabad from Jan 2008 to Aug 2009. Patients with diagnosis of empyema thoracic were studied. Their clinical features and investigations were reco...

Empyema Thoracis

Epmyema thoracis is associated with high mortality ranging between 6% to 24%. The incidence of empyema is increasing in both children and adults; the cause of this surge is unknown. Most cases of empyema complicate community- or hospital-acquired pneumonia but a proportion results from iatrogenic causes or develops without pneumonia. Parapneumonic effusions (PPE) develop in about one half of th...

Intrapleural fibrinolytics in management of empyema thoracis.

STUDY OBJECTIVE To determine the success and complication rates of fibrinolytic therapy (FL) in the treatment of thoracic empyema. DESIGN AND PATIENTS Between December 1992 and November 1994, all patients referred with empyema thoracis (ET) were offered FL. FL consisted of streptokinase (275,000 +/- 170,000 IU) or urokinase (121,000 +/- 57,000 IU) daily for a mean of 6.2 +/- 2.1 days. SETTI...

Pediatric empyema thoracis--role of conservative management.

3. The two cohorts did not differ significantly in the baseline characteristics. Gestational age, birth weight (except for a 40g difference), gender, SGA, obstetric complications, Apgar scores at 1 and 5 minutes were comparable between the two groups. The only two factors that might have had an impact is the use of antenatal steroids and surfactant therapy. 4. We agree that the rates of mechani...

Paediatric Empyema Thoracis: Recommendations for Management