Surgical management of complicated parapneumonic pleural effusion in children

AIMS We analyzed and examined the effect of different management strategies on short term outcomes for pediatric patients with parapneumonic pleural effusions. PATIENTS AND METHODS We retrospectively reviewed 16 cases of children admitted and treated in our department of pediatric surgery for empyema or pleural effusions for a period of 30 months. RESULTS When chest drains are used alone, patients can make a complete recovery, even with the cost of longer hospital stay. Furthermore, some patients often require extensive surgical treatment as open thoracotomy with decortication due to failure to respond to chest-tube drainage. CONCLUSIONS Because of the relatively small number of patients with parapneumonic effusions and because of lack of modern possibilities that require expensive equipment, like VATS or fybrinolitic therapy, our study results are limited and need to be reviewed in time. Even so, results on short outcome are good, with low morbidity and mortality, but with higher costs.