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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery in a 1-month-old infant with pleural empyema.

Pleural empyema is a frequent complication of bacterial pneumonia in childhood but is rare in neonates. Various modalities of treatment from intravenous antibiotics, chest tube drainage, intrapleural fibrinolytic agent installation, video-assisted thoracostomy to surgical decortication have been suggested to treat different stages of empyema in children, but management of progressive empyema in neonates is still at the stage of antimicrobial therapy and tube thoracostomy. Here, we report a 1-month-old infant with staphylococcal pneumonia complicated with multiloculated empyema who was successfully treated with video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) after 4 days of chest tube drainage and parenteral antibiotics. The patient's condition improved rapidly after the operation and the antimicrobial therapy was continued for 3 weeks. He was asymptomatic and thriving at follow-up 1 year later. Chest radiography at 1 month was free of any lesion. This case suggests that VATS can be a safe and effective treatment for neonatal empyema.

Empyema, Pleural↗
PubMed2005

[The treatment of parapneumonic effusions and pleural empyemas].

Pleural effusions of infectious origin usually present as a complication of pneumonia, or, more rarely, of thoracic surgical procedures. Treatment is based upon the clinical picture, the appearance of the pleural fluid, on certain laboratory parameters, and upon the success of therapeutic interventions. The initial antibiotic regimen should cover the causative organisms that may empirically be expected in the individual setting of the patient. Similar to the situation in pneumonias, the spectrum of organisms in community-acquired effusions or empyemas differs substantially from that in hospital-acquired pleural infections. The management of pleural empyemas should follow an interdisciplinary strategy which involves the pulmonologist and the thoracic surgeon. The single most important intervention is the early and effective drainage of the pleural cavity. Loculated effusions that do not promptly improve after drainage can additionally be treated by a trial of intrapleural fibrinolysis for a period of approximately three days. However, the precise role of fibrinolytics in the setting of complicated pleural effusions and empyemas remains to be better defined. Early definitive surgical treatment, preferentially by video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS), should be the goal in all patients who do not promptly respond to drainage and/or intrapleural fibrinolytic therapy and who qualify for a surgical intervention.

Drainage↗
PubMed1989

[Functional aspects of pleural empyema and pleural induration].

Decortication for pleural empyema with or without residual cavities was performed in 161 patients. Indications were sanitation of infection sites and improvement of respiratory function. A total of 73.3% of the patients had a non-specific and 22.4% a tuberculous empyema. Postoperative complications included 8.7% wound infections and 1.2% recurring empyema. Operative mortality was 0.6%. To estimate pulmonary function, the preoperative values of blood gas analysis and vital capacity were assessed in 75 patients and compared with those obtained after one year. A relatively slight improvement was seen only in those patients who had a preoperative reduction of vital capacity amounting to more than 40%. An indication for decortication solely to improve pulmonary function is rare. As a rule decortication is indicated for the simultaneous removal of septic foci and functional improvement.

Adult↗
PubMed1982

Instillation of fibrinolytic enzymes in the treatment of pleural empyema.

Acute pleural empyema which is not amenable to pleural puncture or closed thoracic drainage should be treated operatively by decortication or, in persistent cavities, by open thoracostomy drainage. In the last 2 years we have instilled 500,000 IU of fibrinolysines (streptokinase and streptodornase) per day into the pleural cavity of 27 patients with pleural infections requiring closed intrapleural drainage. By means of this treatment, pus and fibrinous membranes are liquefied and necrotic tissue is discharge. Therapeutic success is indicated by considerably increased fluid drainage about one hour after instillation. This therapy was performed for an average of 5 days. In 12 patients (44%) pleural empyema could be cured. In the other 15 cases decortication, and in 3 of them open thoracostomy drainage, was necessary. In our opinion intrapleural instillation of fibrinolytic enzymes should be added to the well-recognized method of treatment of pleural empyema, although not replace them.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed2002

Surgical versus non-surgical management of pleural empyema.

BACKGROUND: Pleural empyema is a collection of pus between the lungs and the chest wall. Approximately 50% of cases complicate pneumonia. There are a variety of treatment options ranging from intravenous antibiotics alone to open thoracotomy and debridement, depending in part on the stage of the empyema and the severity. The condition changes with time, becoming loculated and more difficult to drain. There is much debate about the most appropriate therapy particularly with the advent of new treatments such as fibrinolytic enzymes (e.g. streptokinase, urokinase) and video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS). OBJECTIVES: To determine which is more effective for the management of empyema: surgical (e.g. thoracoscopy, thoracotomy) or non-surgical techniques (e.g. thoracocentesis, chest tube drainage) and to establish whether there is an optimum time for intervention. SEARCH STRATEGY: The Cochrane Controlled Trials Register and DARE database were searched in addition to the Cochrane Acute Respiratory Infections Group's own register of trials. A specialised topic search with no language restrictions was used to search MEDLINE and EMBASE using Silverplatter. Bibliographies and the reference lists of identified studies and review articles were handsearched. Personal communication with authors and experts in the field is ongoing. SELECTION CRITERIA: Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of surgical techniques versus non-surgical approaches for treatment of pus in the pleural cavity in children and adults but not neonates. Studies of empyema associated with tuberculosis or malignancy were excluded. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Trial quality was assessed using Jadad criteria as recommended by the ARI group (Jadad 1996). The primary outcomes were death or resolution of the empyema. Secondary outcomes addressed length of time chest tubes were required, pain, hospital stay and any complications. MAIN RESULTS: Only one small randomised study was identified which met the inclusion criteria. It was conducted in a university thoracic surgery department. There were some methodological quality considerations which cast some doubt on validity ( patient selection, unclear allocation concealment and outcome assessor blinding) and it scored 'B' overall (Jadad score 3). The main results of the study were that when compared with chest tube drainage combined with streptokinase, the video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) group had a significantly higher primary treatment success and spent less time in hospital. Each group suffered one mortality. REVIEWER'S CONCLUSIONS: It would appear that for large, loculated pleural empyemas VATS is superior to chest tube drainage with streptokinase in terms of duration of chest tubes and hospital stay. However there are questions about validity and the study is also too small to draw conclusions. There are risks of complications (associated with all treatments) which may not apparent with small numbers. VATS is performed under general anaesthetic and one lung ventilation. Fibrinolytics are also associated with side effects. Further larger multicentre studies need to be conducted.

Chest Tubes↗
PubMed2005

Surgical versus non-surgical management of pleural empyema.

BACKGROUND: Pleural empyema is a collection of pus between the lungs and the chest wall. There is debate about treatment options with the advent of both fibrinolytic enzymes to facilitate tube drainage and less invasive video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS). OBJECTIVES: To determine which was more effective: surgical (using thoracoscopy or thoracotomy) or non-surgical techniques (thoracocentesis, chest tube drainage); and to establish whether there was an optimum time for intervention. SEARCH STRATEGY: In this updated review we searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) (The Cochrane Library Issue 3, 2005) MEDLINE (January 2002 to July Week 4, 2005) and EMBASE (January 2001 to 3rd Quarter 2005). Bibliographies, reference lists of identified studies and review articles were handsearched. Personal communication with authors is ongoing. There were no language restrictions. SELECTION CRITERIA: Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of surgical techniques versus non-surgical approaches for treatment of pus in the pleural cavity in children and adults but not neonates. Studies of empyema associated with tuberculosis or malignancy were excluded. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Trial quality was assessed using Jadad criteria (Jadad 1996). Authors were contacted for missing information. The primary outcomes were death or resolution of the empyema. Secondary outcomes addressed the length of time chest tubes were required, pain, hospital stay and any complications. MAIN RESULTS: Only one small randomised study was identified. Some methodological quality considerations cast doubt on the validity of the study with regard to patient selection, unclear allocation concealment and outcome assessor blinding and it scored 'B' overall (Jadad score 3). When compared with chest tube drainage combined with streptokinase, video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) had a significantly higher primary treatment success and patients spent less time in hospital. Each treatment group suffered one mortality. The latest search revealed no further published randomised studies but communication with authors revealed two ongoing studies comparing conventional chest tube drainage plus antibiotics with and without fibrinolytics with video-assisted thorascopic surgery (VATS). A small unpublished study is awaiting assessment that compared chest tube drainage and antibiotics with thoracoscopy or thoracotomy plus antibiotics. AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: It seems that for large, loculated pleural empyemas VATS is superior to chest tube drainage in terms of duration of chest tubes in situ and length of hospital stay. However, there are questions about validity in the one study which met the inclusion criteria and the study has too few participants to draw conclusions. There are risks of complications (associated with all treatments) which may not be apparent with small numbers. Larger studies are needed.

Chest Tubes↗
PubMed2004

[Therapeutic and microbiologic aspects of pleural empyema].

The pleural empyema is a severe disease which passes with respiratory insufficiency and general toxic symptoms. The early staged surgical treatment combined with total evacuation of the puss from pleural cavity is important for the successful outcome of the disease. We made retrospective study including 82 patients with pleural (61 with acute and 21 with chronic) empyema. We performed the following operative interventions: thoracocentesis with active aspiration--at 43, VATS--20, decortication and pleurectomy--in 16, thoracoplastic with muscle flap--3. Three patients died. The most common causes for the empyema were Gr (+) coccy. At most of the patients combined operative treatment and antibiotic therapy were the most effective.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed2003

[From pneumonic infiltration to parapneumonic effusion--from effusion to pleural empyema: internal medicine aspects of parapneumonic effusion development and pleural empyema].

Infectious processes cause the majority part of all clinically relevant pleural effusions which frequently complicate the course of pneumonia. The assessment of an inflammatory effusion requires a careful history, physical examination, imaging techniques and clinical workup. The presence of polymorphonuclear leukocytes, high LDH-activity (> 200 U/L) and protein level (> 3 g/dL) in a pleural effusion indicates acute inflammation. An effusion is usually called empyema, when large numbers of neutrophils form thick, turbid exudates within preexisting body cavities. A thoracic empyema may occur as a result of primary or secondary pleural pathologies and in most cases involves infection with bacteria, frequently provided by progressing pneumonia. There are several therapeutic options for treatment of parapneumonic effusions and of thoracic empyemata, respectively. Optimal therapeutic management and antimicrobial medication to the infected pleural space depend in part on the stage of the empyema at presentation. Treatment can vary from a conservative medical approach in uncomplicated or small parapneumonic effusions to invasive surgical interventions in fibroprulent or organizational stages of empyema. Empyemata usually progress from a parapneumonic exudative stage (stage I), when the fluid is still sterile, with low leukocyte counts, low LDH, physiological pH, and normal glucose, to the fibropurulent [figures: see text] stage (stage II) with high leukocyte counts, high LDH activity, low pH, and low glucose, and finally to the organizational stage (stage III), in which fibroblasts convert fibrin strands into inelastic membranes. Pleural peels and pockets may compartmentalize the viscous empyematous fluid and can cause serious restrictive ventilatory impairment. Each patient must be individually evaluated to determine the nature of the exudate and the stage of the pleural space infection. Due to its high mortality rate (5%) a thoracic empyema requires prompt treatment. Diagnostic thoracentesis and withdrawal of liquid for the microbiological, cytological and biochemical analysis is urgently recommended in all cases to assess severity of the disease and the likelihood of a complicated or uncomplicated course, and to select the most appropriate treatment option.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗
PubMed1990

[Life expectancy and disability following pleural empyema].

The pleural empyema, e.g. postpneumonial or postoperative, has, in an acute state of being, to be treated before all by an aimed intensive puncture, irrigation, and drainage therapy. Removing the cause of the empyema you can expect a cure as a rule, but in certain cases an operative intervention is still necessary. The chronic empyema often needs a decortication for an operative correction. The trials of medical treatment being often conservative and the chronic intoxication most often cause a strong impairment of the general condition. A lot of other organic affections or damages reduce the chances of cure and increase lethality. The chronic empyema not available for an operative correction has, as a whole, a bad long-term prognosis with a high morbidality and lethality. The qualities of living of these patients are often reduced a lot.

Disability Evaluation↗
PubMed2006

The role of thoracoscopy in the treatment of pleural empyema in children.

BACKGROUND: The treatment of empyema with pleural drainage is a widely accepted surgical procedure. Currently, thoracoscopy often is used to treat this disease in some thoracic surgery centers. This report aims to present the authors' experience with the treatment of pleural empyema and the benefits of thoracoscopy. METHODS: From 1997 to 2005, 49 children with a diagnosis of pleural empyema were treated by means of thoracoscopy in the authors' department. The study group consisted of 21 girls and 28 boys, ages 1 to 17 years (mean age, 9.2 years). Thoracoscopic cleaning and drainage of the pleural cavity was performed for all the patients. RESULTS: Intraoperatively, stage I empyema was recognized in 7 children (14.3%), stage II in 30 children (61.2%), and stage III in 12 children (24.5%). Very good results were obtained for all the patients. There were no intra- or postoperative major complications. The drainage time was less than 5 days for 63.3% of the children. In the remaining group of patients, drainage exceeded 8 days only for 16.3%. The postoperative time was short. Emptying of the pleural cavity and full lung decompression were achieved in all cases. In four cases, pleural biopsy showed TB, which enabled early proper treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Thoracoscopy can offer good visualization and cleansing of the empyema chambers, establishing efficient drainage even for patients with advanced stages of pleural empyema. Thoracoscopy enables collection of material not only for bacteriologic, but also for histopathologic examination. The method is minimally invasive, and risk for complication is comparable with that for classical thorax drainage.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2003

Experimental pneumococcal pleural empyema model: the effect of moxifloxacin.

OBJECTIVES: Pleural empyema is a serious complication of pneumonia, the optimal therapy of which is still unknown. The objective of this study was to evaluate the use of moxifloxacin in this condition. METHODS: Pleural empyema was induced in rabbits by intrapleural administration of Pasteurella multocida (10(5-6) cfu) or turpentine (0.3 mL) followed 3 h later by instillation of Streptococcus pneumoniae (ATCC 49619) (10(6) cfu) into the pleural cavity. The MICs of moxifloxacin for S. pneumoniae and P. multocida were 0.4 and 0.05 mg/L, respectively. Starting 30 h following S. pneumoniae challenge intramuscular moxifloxacin 12.5 and 25 mg/kg was administered x 4 (every 12 h). Pleural empyema fluid samples were obtained for bacterial count at 12 h intervals following the first three moxifloxacin administrations. Moxifloxacin levels in pleural empyema and serum samples were obtained at 0, 30, 60, 120, 240, 360 and 480 min and 12 h after the 4th dose and determined by bioassay. RESULTS: In control animals, S. pneumoniae (and P. multocida) persisted in the pleural empyema. S. pneumoniae also persisted in the pleural empyema fluid when moxifloxacin was administered at 12.5 mg/kg (x4 administrations). Mean serum and pleural empyema peak moxifloxacin levels (following the 25 mg/kg dose) were 7.6 (+/-3.2) and 4.8 (+/-2.5) mg/L, respectively. Pleural empyema peak moxifloxacin concentration lagged 1 h after serum moxifloxacin. Serum and pleural empyema half-lives were approximately 1.5 and approximately 6 h, respectively. Serum AUC(1-12) was 29.4 (+/-6.8) mg.h/L and serum area under the inhibitory concentration curve (AUIC) was 73.5 mg.h/L. Pleural empyema AUC(1-12) was 34.3 (+/-11.7) mg/L and pleural empyema AUIC was 85.8 mg.h/L. S. pneumoniae was eradicated from pleural empyema following a single dose of moxifloxacin 25 mg/kg in 52% of the animals and in 96% following four doses. Moxifloxacin was also effective in eradication of P. multocida. The rate of pleural empyema sterilization was related to moxifloxacin serum AUIC (r = 0.82) as well as serum peak moxifloxacin level (r = 0.84), but not to pleural empyema AUIC (r = 0.19) or pleural empyema peak levels. The results were similar for both methods of induction of pleural empyema. CONCLUSIONS: Moxifloxacin appears to penetrate well into experimental pleural empyema and effectively sterilize it from S. pneumoniae. Sterilization of S. pneumoniae is related to serum AUIC rather than to moxifloxacin pharmacokinetics in pleural empyema.

Animals↗
PubMed2005

[Pleural empyema: surgical treatment].

Pleural empyema runs in three stages, if untreated. Because it produces uncharacteristic signs, specific diagnosis and adequate treatment is often delayed. The treatment should be early, according to the stage and adapted to the given situation. Expenditure and morbidity of treatment are the higher the longer it is delayed. In the exudative stage 1, drainage--if necessary combined with antibiotic administration--is likely to be successful. In the fibrinous-purulent stage 3, often not clearly demarked from the other stages, video-assisted thoracoscopy (VATS) in its various forms provides the best therapeutic prerequisite. It makes it possible to open all cavities and free pleural layers from the, usually fibrinous or fibrosing, contents. Furthermore, VATS allows targeted drainage placement as essential precondition of effective irrigation. The definitive stage 3 of organization requires the technically demanding empyema excision or decortication.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗
PubMed1996

[Is a minimally-invasive treatment concept in the late stage of pleural empyema successful?].

INTRODUCTION: Thoracoscopic treatment of pleural empyema is still a controversial method, especially in the chronic stage of the disease. The issue is raised whether the thoracoscopic approach to the empyema-possibly combined with a small additional thoracotomy in advanced stages-is successful and of low risk. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Between January 1993 and May 1995 we treated 13 patients in advanced stages of pleural empyema. The patients were all seriously ill and had severe underlying disease. The procedures were performed under general anesthesia involving intubation with a double-lumen endotracheal tube. The steps of our standard operative procedure are outlined. RESULTS: In 5 patients with a pleural empyema in stage III thoracoscopy was facilitated by a small additional thoracotomy. A complete resolution of the disease was obtained in 12 cases and a secondary intervention was necessary in 1 patient. There was no peri- or postoperative mortality, and apart from a prolonged drainage of the pleural cavity in 3 patients no morbidity was registered. In the long-term follow up, 3 patients had died. There was no correlation between the deaths and the intervention or the empyema disease. DISCUSSION: We discuss the advantages of a limited additional thoracotomy in case of intraoperative difficulties encountered with late stages of empyema. This treatment can still be considered minimally invasive. All patients tolerated the procedure well, and the overall results were favourable in 92% of our collective. However, thoracoscopic treatment should preferably take place at an earlier stage. CONCLUSION: We recommend the thoracoscopic approach-possibly combined with a limited thoracotomy-as primary treatment in late stages of pleural empyema.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Video-assisted thoracoscopic treatment of pleural empyema. A new therapeutic approach.

Pleural empyema is a disease which is not always recognized. Despite consecutive treatment and antibiotics its mortality rate is still high, especially in older patients with concomitant disease or in the case of delayed treatment. We report our experience with early video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery of pleural empyema in 13 patients, where chest tube drainage had failed. The clinical symptoms of empyema did not exceed 14 days, bacteriologic cultures were positive in 62%. In all patients the fever disappeared within 1 to 5 days (mean 3.5) post-operatively and they remained in hospital for an average of 11.5 days after video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery. Pulmonary function tests 6 months later revealed normal values without a substantial loss of lung volumes. No relapse of empyema occurred.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

[Experiences in stage-adapted therapy of pleural empyema].

INTRODUCTION: Up till now the phases adapted treatment of a pleural empyema unfortunately is still not obvious, but recently the operative spectrum has been widened in the field of video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) of the pleural empyema. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In the present study we examined all our patients with a pleural empyema and we followed them for a postoperative period of 4 years analysing our therapy-efficacy and our treatment concept of pleural empyema. RESULTS: 52 out of 102 patients--who suffered from a pleural empyema in the last 10 years--were reexamined postoperatively. In 96% of the 102 cases we found a phase II-III empyema. Initially all patients were treated with a closed-chest-tube drainage, followed by an operation in 78%. In 6 cases a video-assisted-thoracoscopic evacuation of the cavity with an early decortication was performed. All the 52 patients who were treated in an early phase showed the best functional results 4 years later. CONCLUSION: Especially in phase III the open operative revision of a pleural empyema is the method of choice. In the fibrinopurulent phase the drainage therapy may be sufficient. If the empyema cavity is divided we recommend the early video-assisted-thoracoscopic revision of the thoracic empyema.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

Omentoplasty together with partial thoracoplasty: a one-stage operation for postpneumonectomy pleural empyema.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Postpneumonectomy pleural empyema is a rare but life-threatening complication in thoracic surgery. This article describes our treatment strategy of this condition with omentoplasty plus partial thoracoplasty. MATERIAL AND METHODS: During a 2-year period 5, patients were treated. Three patients had clinical signs of bronchial stump fistula confirmed by bronchoscopy and during thoracotomy. Four patients were preoperatively treated with tube thoracostomy and pleural irrigation (median 21 days). In one case no preoperative drainage procedure was used. All patients were treated by partial thoracoplasty and omental transfer as a single-stage operation. Thoracoplasty was performed extrapleurally according to CT findings to reduce the volume of the empyema cavity. Subsequently, the empyema cavity was opened and cleaned. Upper midline incision was used to mobilize omentum majus and transfer it through the diaphragm into the thoracic cavity. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: In 3 patients, the omentum filled the cavity only partially but that did not influence the results. All patients recovered without major complications. Two patients had nausea during the first postoperative days. No recurrence of pleural empyema occurred. Omentoplasty together with partial thoracoplasty is a safe and effective method in the treatment of postpneumonectomy pleural empyema both with and without broncial stump fistula. It can be performed as a single-stage operation without a pre- or postoperative open-window thoracostomy.

Carcinoma, Squamous Cell↗