Surgical Management of Empyema (original) (raw)
Surgical spectrum in the management of empyemas
Thoracic surgery clinics, 2012
Empyema remains a major source of morbidity and health care expenditure in the thoracic surgery community. Early intervention in pleural space infections is key to prevention of chronic empyemas and the need for surgical intervention. The advent of video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery has made it possible to treat stage I and stage II empyemas with significantly less morbidity. Although management of chronic empyema remains a significant challenge, surgical intervention is usually successful in cleaning up the pleural space.
Surgical Treatment of Pleural Empyema – Our Results
PRILOZI, 2017
Pleural infection is a frequent clinical condition. Prompt treatment has been shown to reduce morbidity, mortality and duration of hospital stay. Unfortunately, advanced stages of empyema need to use extensive surgery - decortications or thoracoplasty. Early recognition of the parapneumonic effusion and the adequate treatment with thoracentesis or pleural drainage, which is minimally invasive, is possible not to prograde the process and not to become empyema. Aim: To analyze the results of the surgical treatment in patients with empyema treated at Clinic for thoracic surgery. Material and methods: In the retrospective study we analyzed 234 patients with empyema which were treated at the Clinic for Thoracic Surgery in 5 year period (2011-2015). The mean age of the patients was 51.94 years. They were treated with pleural drainage, decortications or thoracoplasty. Results: With pleural drainage were treated 165/234 (70.51%) patients, of which successfully were finished 124/165 (75.15%)...
Management of empyema - Role of a surgeon
Journal of Indian Association of Pediatric Surgeons, 2005
Postpneumonic empyema still remains quite common in developing countries, especially during the hot and humid months. While most cases would respond to antibiotic therapy, needle aspiration and intercostal drainage, few cases require further surgical management. The most common nontubercular etiological agent is Staphylococcus. Tubercular etiology is not uncommon in India, especially due to delayed presentation, multiresistant strains, mismanaged cases, and noncompliance with antitubercular treatment amidst malnutrition and anemia. Clinical symptoms, a skiagram chest followed by thoracentesis are enough for diagnosis. Pleural fluid is usually diagnostic and helps in choosing the appropriate antibiotics. Further investigations and management depends on the stage of the disease. Thoracentesis alone may be sufficient for the exudative phase. In fibrinopurulent stage, a properly sized and well-placed tube thoracostomy with underwater seal is curative in most cases. Interventional radiologists have placed small-bore catheters, specifically directed to the loculated collection and have used fibrinolytics like urokinase, streptokinase, and tissue plasminogen activator (TPA) to break loculations, ameliorate fibrous peel formation, and fibrin deposition. Thoracoscopic debridement and thoracoscopic decortication is an alternative with distinct advantages over thoracotmy and are indicated if there was no response with intercostal drainage procedure. In the organizing stage, a thoracotomy (for decortication) would be required if there is a loculated empyema, underlying lung disease or persistently symptomatic effusions. Timely institution of proper management prevents the need for any surgical intervention and avoids long-term morbid complications.
Surgical management of primary empyema of the pleural cavity: outcome of 81 patients
Interactive cardiovascular and thoracic surgery, 2010
Postpneumonic empyema is the most common form of empyema thoracis and is still recognised as a major cause of morbidity and prolonged hospital stay. We reviewed 106 patients retrospectively who underwent surgical management of pleural empyema over a period of three years from August 2005. We identified 81 patients (76%) (58 males, mean age 52 years) with primary empyema and 25 patients (24%) with secondary empyema. The first group of patients with primary empyema was analysed. Twenty-nine patients (36%) had stage II empyema and 52 patients (64%) had stage III. The majority of stage II empyema patients underwent thoracoscopic debridement (28 patients) and one patient had open thoracotomy and debridement. Stage III patients underwent thoracoscopic decortication (32 patients) of those six patients (19%) were converted to open decortication, open decortication (19 patients) and fenestration (one patient). Mortality rate was 0% for all procedures. Median length of hospital stay was six d...
Current opinion in pulmonary medicine, 2011
Thoracic empyema is the accumulation of frank pus within the pleural cavity. Its cause is often multifactorial and may include direct contiguous spread of infection, penetrating chest trauma or an iatrogenic cause secondary to surgical instrumentation of the pleural space. Current management of empyema is based on local empirical practice as there is no consensus on an optimal regimen. Over the past decade, surgical management of empyema has attracted great interest, leading to specific recommendations.
EACTS expert consensus statement for surgical management of pleural empyema
European Journal of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery, 2015
Pleural infection is a frequent clinical condition. Prompt treatment has been shown to reduce hospital costs, morbidity and mortality. Recent advances in treatment have been variably implemented in clinical practice. This statement reviews the latest developments and concepts to improve clinical management and stimulate further research. The European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery (EACTS) Thoracic Domain and the EACTS Pleural Diseases Working Group established a team of thoracic surgeons to produce a comprehensive review of available scientific evidence with the aim to cover all aspects of surgical practice related to its treatment, in particular focusing on: surgical treatment of empyema in adults; surgical treatment of empyema in children; and surgical treatment of post-pneumonectomy empyema (PPE). In the management of Stage 1 empyema, prompt pleural space chest tube drainage is required. In patients with Stage 2 or 3 empyema who are fit enough to undergo an operative procedure, there is a demonstrated benefit of surgical debridement or decortication [possibly by video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS)] over tube thoracostomy alone in terms of treatment success and reduction in hospital stay. In children, a primary operative approach is an effective management strategy, associated with a lower mortality rate and a reduction of tube thoracostomy duration, length of antibiotic therapy, reintervention rate and hospital stay. Intrapleural fibrinolytic therapy is a reasonable alternative to primary operative management. Uncomplicated PPE [without bronchopleural fistula (BPF)] can be effectively managed with minimally invasive techniques, including fenestration, pleural space irrigation and VATS debridement. PPE associated with BPF can be effectively managed with individualized open surgical techniques, including direct repair, myoplastic and thoracoplastic techniques. Intrathoracic vacuum-assisted closure may be considered as an adjunct to the standard treatment. The current literature cements the role of VATS in the management of pleural empyema, even if the choice of surgical approach relies on the individual surgeon's preference.
Surgical treatment of pleural empyema according to disease stage
Medicinski arhiv, 2009
Para pneumonic effusions are often complications of bacterial pneumonia, occurring in 5-50% patients and in 15% cases it can progress into pleural empyema. Pleural empyema treatment includes drainage of pus, re-expansion of lung by using appropriate antibiotics. Surgical treatment covers implementation of certain thoracic drainage modifications, use of VATS techniques and thoracotomy with pleura decortications. Research has involved 100 patients with diagnosis and treatment of para pneumonic and meta pneumonic pleural empyema. Based on previously defined phase of pleural empyema it was determined which surgical procedures have been used in definitive treatment of pleural empyema. In case of 31,17% (24/77) patients it has been found that pre-clinical treatment lasted 31 days and longer, and 49,35% (38/77) patients have been admitted at Clinic after 11 to 30 days of pre-clinic treatment. Only in 19.48% (15/77) patients pre-clinic treatment lasted up to 10 days. 79% (79/100) patients w...
Pleural Empyema Menagement: A Brief Review of Litterature
Serbian Journal of Experimental and Clinical Research
Pleural empyema, defined as the presence of purulent material within the pleural space, is the consequence of a suppurative process involving the serous pleural layers. Thoracic empyema is a dynamic process, inflammatory in origin and taking place within a preformed space bordered by both the visceral and parietal pleura. It is a complex clinical entity, neither a sole clinical, laboratory, nor a radiological diagnosis. The primary therapeutic aim: ‘ubi pus evacua’ — if you find pus remove it—has not changed since the age of Celsus. Therefore, treatment of the acute empyema of the pleura is directed to early and complete evacuation of empirical fluid and content, achieving full re-expansion of the lungs and eradication of the infection using appropriate surgical procedures, antibiotics and other supportive procedures. The optimum method of treating empyema should be adjusted to the condition of the patient and the stage of the disease in which the patient is located. The method of t...
Minimally invasive thoracic surgery for empyema
Breathe
The widely accepted and still increasing use of video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) in pleuro-pulmonary pathology imposes the need to deal with two major pitfalls: the first is to avoid its unselective use, while the second relates to inappropriate rejection of VATS on the basis of “insufficient radicality”. Unlike a quite established role of VATS in lung cancer patients, in patients with pleural empyema, the role of VATS is less clearly defined. The current evidence about VATS in patients with pleural empyema could be summarised as follows: VATS is accepted as a useful treatment option for fibrinopurulent empyema, but the treatment failure rate increases with the increasing proportion of stage III empyema, necessitating further surgical options like thoracotomy and decortication. As both pulmonologists and surgeons deal with diagnosis and treatment of pleural empyema, this article is an attempt to highlight the existing evidence in a more user-friendly way in order to help pract...