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...

To determine the safety and complications of chest tube clamping, a retrospective chart review was conducted at Baylor University Medical Center's level I trauma center. The records of 243 patients with pneumothoraces, hemothoraces, or a combination were identified and analyzed; 134 patients underwent clamping according to the care path, and 109 did not. The demographic characteristics of age, ...

BACKGROUND Malignant pleural effusion (MPE) is an extremely common problem affecting cancer patients, and thoracentesis is an essential procedure in an attempt to delineate the etiology of the fluid collections and to relieve symptoms in affected patients. One of the most common complications of thoracentesis is pneumothorax, which has been reported to occur in 20% to 39% of thoracenteses, with...

Forty-eight patients with pleural effusions who had sonographically directed thoracocentesis were evaluated retrospectively for radiologic findings, pleural fluid chemistries, and outcome. Loculation was found to be a radiologic marker of diagnostic and prognostic significance. The presence of loculations correlated with exudative pleural fluid chemistries, but no radiologic finding was specifi...

INTRODUCTION Pleural drainage with chest tube insertion for thoracic trauma is a common and often life-saving technique. Although considered a simple procedure, complication rates have been reported to be 2-25%. We conducted a prospective cohort observational study of emergency pleural drainage procedures to validate the indications for pre-hospital thoracostomy and to identify complications fr...

: A domestic-longhair cat presented due to lethargy, dyspnoea and hypersalivation. Radiographic examination revealed a bilateral pleural effusion, which was diagnosed as pyothorax based on cytological examination. Ultrasonographic examination revealed extensive loculations within the thoracic cavity. Exploratory sternotomy, under general anaesthesia, allowed the removal of approximately 100 ml ...

The timing of surgical treatment of empyema remains controversial. Traditionally, thoracotomy is performed either within three weeks of diagnosis or delayed until presumed pleurodesis occurs. Often, these patients are moribund and the duration of illness impossible to determine. We report our surgical results in seven patients with a deteriorating clinical course and multiple loculations which ...

Tube thoracostomy is a common therapeutic approach applied in medical practice. Certain complications of this procedure have been described in the literature. Oculosympathetic paresis, or Horner's syndrome, occurs from the interruption of second order preganglionic neurons and manifests as miosis, ptosis, hemifacial anhidrosis and enophthalmos. Iatrogenic Horner's syndrome, on the other hand, v...