In order to compare the performance of four pleural drainage units (PDU [Emerson Post-Operative Pump, Pleur-Evac, Sentinel Seal, Thora-Klex]), we created an animal model of bronchopleural fistula that simulated the type of air leak seen clinically (mean maximal flow = 5 L/min). The PDU were tested at 0 cm (water seal), -20 cm and -40 cmH2O suction. Compared to water seal, -20 cmH2O suction sign...

Accepted 3 January 2018 DesCripTion Coccidioidomycosis is a fungal infection by the Coccidioides genus and is usually caused by inhalation of the spores. Patients with diabetes are more likely to present with severe lung disease, especially cavitary lesions. 2 We depict the case of a 47-year-old man with uncontrolled type 2 diabetes mellitus who presented with a right pulmonary lung abscess due...

OBJECTIVE To assess the incidence of necrotizing pneumonia (NP) in children submitted to thoracoscopy, comparing patients with and without NP in terms of the presentation and clinical evolution. METHODS A retrospective study of children with pleural empyema submitted to thoracoscopy. Thoracoscopy was performed in patients not previously submitted to thoracic drainage and in whom there was evi...

A 49-yr-old male was admitted to the Pulmonology Unit of Bichat Hospital (Paris, France) in February 2001 due to minor haemoptysis. He had a history of right upper lobe tuberculosis in 1970, complicated with secondary aspergilloma in 1999 and treated with itraconazole between April and October 1999. In November 1999, he presented with right pleural empyema (local samples yielded Pseudomonas aer...

Controversial results of surgical treatment after induction chemotherapy, especially in relation to the extent of resection, have previously been reported. Mortality and morbidity were studied in the surgical arm of the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) 08941 trial. EORTC 08941 is a multicentre, prospective, randomised, phase-III trial of surgical resection vers...

Patients presenting with a sudden drop in the pleural fluid level after a pneumonectomy in the absence of a recognizable bronchopleural fistula (BPF) have been classified as cases of benign emptying of the post-pneumonectomy space (BEPS). A retrospective study of 1378 pneumonectomies identified 4 cases of BEPS (0.29%). The patients were men; median age 64 years and all had undergone a right pne...

BACKGROUND Severe necrotizing pneumococcal pneumonia may progress to the development of bronchopleural fistula (BPF). The purpose of this study was to describe the clinical courses and identify risk factors for the development of bronchopleural fistula in children with pneumococcal pneumonia. Histopathologic features of children receiving surgical resections of the lung because of BPF were anal...