Abstract
A retrospective analysis of 37 pediatric patients with pleural empyema revealed thatStreptoccoccus pneumoniae was the most frequently isolated pathogen (41 %), followed byStaphylococcus aureus (14 %). Twenty-three patients were treated with thoracic drainage and systemic antibiotics, and the other 14 patients with antibiotics only. The case fatality ratio (11 %), the complication rate (38 %), the length of hospital stay, and the number of febrile days did not differ significantly between the two treatment groups. The immediate insertion of drainage tubes is probably not indicated in all children with pleural empyema but should be reserved for specific indications.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ravitch, M. M., Fein, R.: The changing picture of pneumonia and empyema in infants and children. Journal of the American Medical Association 1961, 175: 1039–1044.
Middelkamp, J. N., Purkeson, M. L., Burford, J. H.: The changing pattern of empyema thoracis. Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery 1964, 47: 165–173.
Bechamps, G. J., Lynn, H. B., Wenzl, J. E.: Empyema in children: review of Mayo Clinic experience. Mayo Clinic Proceedings 1970, 45: 43–50.
Stiles, Q. R., Lindesmith, G. G., Zucker, B. L., Meyer, B. W., Jones, J. C.: Pleural empyema in children. Annals of Thoracic Surgery 1970, 10: 37–50.
Weese, W. C., Shindler, E. R., Smith, J. M., Rabinovitch, S.: Empyema of the thorax — then and now. A study of 122 cases over four decades. Archives of Internal Medicine 1973, 131: 516–520.
Siegel, J. D., Gartner, J. C., Michaels, R. H.: Pneumococcal empyema in childhood. American Journal of Diseases of Children 1978, 133: 1094–1096.
Murphy, D., Lockhart, C. H., Todd, J. K.: Pneumococcal empyema. American Journal of Diseases in Children 1980, 134: 659–662.
Riley, H. D., Bracken, E. C.: Empyema due toHaemophilus influenzae in infants and children. American Journal of Diseases of Children 1965, 110: 24–28.
Benfield, C. F. A.: Recent trends in empyema thoracis. British Journal of Diseases of Chest 1981, 75: 358–366.
Mavrovdis, C., Symmonds, J. B., Minagi, H., Thomas, A. N.: Improved survival in management of empyema thoracis. Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery 1981, 82: 49–57.
Roenfeldt, F. L., McGibney, D., Braimbridge, M. V., Watson, D. A.: Comparison between irrigation and conventional treatment for empyema and pneumonectomy space infection. Thorax 1981, 36: 272–277.
Behrman, R. E., Vaughan, V. L., Nelson, N.: Textbook of pediatrics. Saunders, Philadelphia, 1983, p. 1079.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Meyerovitch, J., Shohet, I. & Rubinstein, E. Analysis of thirty-seven cases of pleural empyema. Eur. J. Clin. Microbiol. 4, 337–339 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02013664
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02013664