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Clinics in Chest Medicine Dec 2021The rising incidence and high morbidity of pleural infection remain a significant challenge to health care systems worldwide. With distinct microbiology and treatment... (Review)
Review
The rising incidence and high morbidity of pleural infection remain a significant challenge to health care systems worldwide. With distinct microbiology and treatment paradigms from pneumonia, pleural infection is an area in which the evidence base has been rapidly evolving. Progress in recent years has revolved around characterizing the microbiome of pleural infection and the addition of new strategies such as intrapleural enzyme therapy to the established treatment pathway of drainage and antibiotics. The future of improving outcomes lies with personalizing treatment, establishing optimal timing of intrapleural agents and surgery, alongside wider use of risk stratification to guide treatment.
Topics: Empyema, Pleural; Fibrinolytic Agents; Humans; Pleural Effusion; Pneumonia; Thrombolytic Therapy
PubMed: 34774171
DOI: 10.1016/j.ccm.2021.08.001 -
Advances in Experimental Medicine and... 2020Breastfeeding is immunoprotective and World Health Organization recommends exclusive breastfeeding for about six months with continuation of breastfeeding for one year... (Review)
Review
Breastfeeding is immunoprotective and World Health Organization recommends exclusive breastfeeding for about six months with continuation of breastfeeding for one year or longer as mutually desired by mother and infant. But the target for duration of exclusive breastfeeding has not been reached in a significant number of women. It may be due to inflammatory breast disease such as milk stasis or lactational mastitis.In this chapter we discuss the most common complications of breastfeeding including milk stasis, mastitis, and breast abscess. Also idiopathic granulomatous mastitis, a less common condition, is discussed due to its confusing characteristics and not universally-accepted treatment strategies .Breastfeeding mastitis is inflammation of the breast that can be infectious or non-infectious. With proper diagnosis and treatment of this condition, more severe complications like breast abscess could be avoided, so that breastfeeding could be continued in some circumstances.
Topics: Abscess; Breast Feeding; Empyema, Pleural; Female; Granulomatous Mastitis; Humans; Lactation; Mastitis
PubMed: 32816262
DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-41596-9_7 -
JAMA Pediatrics Apr 2020Clinical guidelines recommend that children with pleural empyema be treated with chest tube insertion and intrapleural fibrinolytics. The addition of dornase alfa... (Randomized Controlled Trial)
Randomized Controlled Trial
Effectiveness of Intrapleural Tissue Plasminogen Activator and Dornase Alfa vs Tissue Plasminogen Activator Alone in Children with Pleural Empyema: A Randomized Clinical Trial.
IMPORTANCE
Clinical guidelines recommend that children with pleural empyema be treated with chest tube insertion and intrapleural fibrinolytics. The addition of dornase alfa (DNase) has been reported to improve outcomes in adults but remains unproven in children.
OBJECTIVE
To determine if intrapleural tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) and DNase is more effective than tPA and placebo at reducing hospital length of stay in children with pleural empyema.
DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS
This multicenter, parallel-group, placebo-controlled, superiority randomized clinical trial included children diagnosed as having pleural empyema requiring drainage aged 6 months to 18 years treated at 6 tertiary Canadian children's hospitals. A total of 379 children were assessed for eligibility; 281 were excluded and 98 were randomized. One child was excluded after randomization for not meeting the inclusion criteria. Data were collected from March 4, 2013, to December 13, 2017.
INTERVENTIONS
Participants underwent chest tube insertion and 3 daily administrations of intrapleural tPA, 4 mg, followed by DNase, 5 mg (intervention group), or 5 mL of normal saline (placebo; control group). Participants, families, clinical staff, and members of the study team were blinded to allocation.
MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES
The primary outcome was hospital length of stay from chest tube insertion to discharge. Secondary outcomes included time to meeting discharge criteria, time to chest tube removal, mean fever duration, additional pleural drainage procedures, hospital readmissions, and total health care cost.
RESULTS
Of the 97 analyzed children with pleural empyema, 52 (54%) were male, and the mean (SD) age was 5.1 (3.6) years. A total of 49 children were randomized to tPA and DNase and 48 were randomized to tPA and placebo. Treatment with tPA and DNase was not associated with decreased hospital length of stay compared with tPA and placebo (mean [SD] length of stay, 9.0 [4.9] vs 9.1 [5.3] days; mean difference, -0.1 days; 95% CI, -2.0 to 2.1; P = .96). Similarly, no significant differences were observed for any of the secondary outcomes. Of the 14 adverse events in the tPA and DNase group, 6 (43%) were serious; of the 21 adverse events in the tPA and placebo group, 8 (38%) were serious. There were no deaths.
CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE
The addition of DNase to intrapleural tPA for children with pleural empyema had no effect on hospital length of stay or other outcomes compared with tPA with placebo. Clinical practice guidelines should continue to support the use of chest tube insertion and intrapleural fibrinolytics alone as first-line treatment for pediatric empyema.
TRIAL REGISTRATION
ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01717742.
Topics: Adolescent; Chest Tubes; Child; Child, Preschool; Deoxyribonuclease I; Empyema, Pleural; Female; Fibrinolytic Agents; Health Care Costs; Humans; Infant; Length of Stay; Male; Patient Readmission; Recombinant Proteins; Tissue Plasminogen Activator
PubMed: 32011642
DOI: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2019.5863 -
The Cochrane Database of Systematic... Oct 2019Pleural infection, including parapneumonic effusions and thoracic empyema, may complicate lower respiratory tract infections. Standard treatment of these collections in... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis
BACKGROUND
Pleural infection, including parapneumonic effusions and thoracic empyema, may complicate lower respiratory tract infections. Standard treatment of these collections in adults involves antibiotic therapy, effective drainage of infected fluid and surgical intervention if conservative management fails. Intrapleural fibrinolytic agents such as streptokinase and alteplase have been hypothesised to improve fluid drainage in complicated parapneumonic effusions and empyema and therefore improve treatment outcomes and prevent the need for thoracic surgical intervention. Intrapleural fibrinolytic agents have been used in combination with DNase, but this is beyond the scope of this review.
OBJECTIVES
To assess the benefits and harms of adding intrapleural fibrinolytic therapy to standard conservative therapy (intercostal catheter drainage and antibiotic therapy) in the treatment of complicated parapneumonic effusions and empyema.
SEARCH METHODS
We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), MEDLINE and Embase, ClinicalTrials.gov and the World Health Organization (WHO) trials portal. We contacted trial authors for further information and requested details regarding the possibility of unpublished trials. The most recent search was conducted on 28 August 2019.
SELECTION CRITERIA
Parallel-group randomised controlled trials (RCTs) in adult patients with post-pneumonic empyema or complicated parapneumonic effusions (excluding tuberculous effusions) who had not had prior surgical intervention or trauma comparing an intrapleural fibrinolytic agent (streptokinase, alteplase or urokinase) versus placebo or a comparison of two fibrinolytic agents.
DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS
Two review authors independently extracted data. We contacted study authors for further information. We used odds ratios (OR) for dichotomous data and reported 95% confidence intervals (CIs). We used Cochrane's standard methodological procedures of meta-analysis. We applied the GRADE approach to summarise results and to assess the overall certainty of evidence.
MAIN RESULTS
We included in this review a total of 12 RCTs. Ten studies assessed fibrinolytic agents versus placebo (993 participants); one study compared streptokinase with urokinase (50 participants); and one compared alteplase versus urokinase (99 participants). The primary outcomes were death, requirement for surgical intervention, overall treatment failure and serious adverse effects. All studies were in the inpatient setting. Outcomes were measured at varying time points from hospital discharge to three months. Seven trials were at low or unclear risk of bias and two at high risk of bias due to inadequate randomisation and inappropriate study design respectively. We found no evidence of difference in overall mortality with fibrinolytic versus placebo (OR 1.16, 95% CI 0.71 to 1.91; 8 studies, 867 participants; I² = 0%; moderate certainty of evidence). We found evidence of a reduction in surgical intervention with fibrinolysis in the same studies (OR 0.37, 95% CI 0.21 to 0.68; 8 studies, 897 participants; I² = 51%; low certainty of evidence); and overall treatment failure (OR 0.16, 95% CI 0.05 to 0.58; 7 studies, 769 participants; I² = 88%; very low certainty of evidence, with evidence of significant heterogeneity). We found no clear evidence of an increase in adverse effects with intrapleural fibrinolysis, although this cannot be excluded (OR 1.28, 95% CI 0.36 to 4.57; low certainty of evidence). In a sensitivity analysis, the reduction in referrals for surgery and overall treatment failure with fibrinolysis disappeared when the analysis was confined to studies at low or unclear risk of bias. In a moderate-risk population (baseline 14% risk of death, 20% risk of surgery, 27% risk of treatment failure), intra-pleural fibrinolysis leads to 19 more deaths (36 fewer to 59 more), 115 fewer surgical interventions (150 fewer to 55 fewer) and 214 fewer overall treatment failures (252 fewer to 93 fewer) per 1000 people. A single study of streptokinase versus urokinase found no clear difference between the treatments for requirement for surgery (OR 1.00, 95% CI 0.13 to 7.72; 50 participants; low-certainty evidence). A single study of alteplase versus urokinase showed no clear difference in requirement for surgery (OR alteplase versus urokinase 0.46, 95% CI 0.04 to 5.24) but an increased rate of adverse effects, primarily bleeding, with alteplase (OR 5.61, 95% CI 1.16 to 27.11; 99 participants; low-certainty evidence). This translated into 154 (6 to 499 more) serious adverse events with alteplase compared with urokinase per 1000 people treated.
AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS
In patients with complicated infective pleural effusion or empyema, intrapleural fibrinolytic therapy was associated with a reduction in the requirement for surgical intervention and overall treatment failure but with no evidence of change in mortality. Discordance between the negative largest trial of this therapy and other studies is of concern, however, as is an absence of significant effect when analysing low risk of bias trials only. The reasons for this difference are uncertain but may include publication bias. Intrapleural fibrinolytics may increase the rate of serious adverse events, but the evidence is insufficient to confirm or exclude this possibility.
Topics: Anti-Bacterial Agents; Drainage; Empyema, Pleural; Fibrinolytic Agents; Humans; Pleural Effusion; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; Streptokinase; Thrombolytic Therapy; Tissue Plasminogen Activator; Urokinase-Type Plasminogen Activator
PubMed: 31684683
DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD002312.pub4 -
Chest Dec 2020
Topics: Empyema, Pleural; Humans; Ontario
PubMed: 33280757
DOI: 10.1016/j.chest.2020.07.041 -
Tropical Doctor Jul 2022A 50-year old diabetic male presented with cough, breathlessness, fever, and chest pain. Clinical and radiological evaluation revealed a right-sided pyopneumothorax....
A 50-year old diabetic male presented with cough, breathlessness, fever, and chest pain. Clinical and radiological evaluation revealed a right-sided pyopneumothorax. Surgical drainage with tube thoracostomy was performed. Pleural fluid cultures grew as a sole organism. Our patient was treated with vancomycin and amikacin with an excellent clinical response. Enterococci are rarely implicated in the lower respiratory tract and pleural infections and are not usually considered if initiating empirical treatment. Their intrinsic resistance to empirically used antibiotics may complicate the course of the disease. Hence initial Gram staining and expeditious microbiological isolation with susceptibility testing is warranted in all cases. Gram-positive aerobes, notably staphylococcus followed by streptococcus and pneumococcus, are the commonly encountered organisms in pleural infections.
Topics: Anti-Bacterial Agents; Empyema, Pleural; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Pneumothorax; Staphylococcus
PubMed: 35321613
DOI: 10.1177/00494755221089461 -
Respiratory Medicine Oct 2021Pleural sepsis stems from an infection within the pleural space typically from an underlying bacterial pneumonia leading to development of a parapneumonic effusion. This... (Review)
Review
Pleural sepsis stems from an infection within the pleural space typically from an underlying bacterial pneumonia leading to development of a parapneumonic effusion. This effusion is traditionally divided into uncomplicated, complicated, and empyema. Poor clinical outcomes and increased mortality can be associated with the development of parapneumonic effusions, reinforcing the importance of early recognition and diagnosis. Management necessitates a multimodal therapeutic strategy consisting of antimicrobials, catheter/tube thoracostomy, and at times, video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery.
Topics: Antibodies; Combined Modality Therapy; Early Diagnosis; Empyema, Pleural; Humans; Pleura; Pleural Diseases; Pleural Effusion; Pneumonia, Bacterial; Sepsis; Thoracic Surgery, Video-Assisted; Thoracostomy
PubMed: 34340174
DOI: 10.1016/j.rmed.2021.106553 -
Thorax Nov 2021Infection of the pleural cavity invariably leads to hospitalisation, and a fatal outcome is not uncommon. Our aim was to study the epidemiology of pleural empyema on a...
BACKGROUND
Infection of the pleural cavity invariably leads to hospitalisation, and a fatal outcome is not uncommon. Our aim was to study the epidemiology of pleural empyema on a nationwide basis in the whole population and in three subgroups of patients, namely post-lung resection, associated cancer and those with no surgery and no cancer.
METHODS
Data from patients aged ≥18 years hospitalised with a diagnosis of pleural infection in France between January 2013 and December 2017 were retrieved from the medical-administrative national hospitalisation database and retrospectively analysed. Mortality, length of stay and costs were assessed.
RESULTS
There were 25 512 hospitalisations for pleural empyema. The annual rate was 7.15 cases per 100 000 habitants in 2013 and increased to 7.75 cases per 100 000 inhabitants in 2017. The mean age of patients was 62.4±15.6 years and 71.7% were men. Post-lung resection, associated cancer and no surgery-no cancer cases accounted for 9.8%, 30.1% and 60.1% of patients, respectively. These groups were significantly different in terms of clinical characteristics, mortality and risk factors for length of stay, costs and mortality. Mortality was 17.1% in the whole population, 29.5% in the associated cancer group, 17.7% in the post-lung resection group and 10.7% in the no surgery-no cancer group. In the whole population, age, presence of fistula, higher Charlson Comorbidity Index (3), alcohol abuse, arterial hypertension, hyperlipidaemia, atheroma, atrial fibrillation, performance status 3 and three subgroups of pleural empyema independently predicted mortality.
CONCLUSIONS
Empyema is increasing in incidence. Factors associated with mortality are recent lung resection and associated diagnosis of cancer.
Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Empyema, Pleural; Humans; Incidence; Male; Middle Aged; Pleural Diseases; Prognosis; Retrospective Studies
PubMed: 33785584
DOI: 10.1136/thoraxjnl-2020-215267 -
Clinical Infectious Diseases : An... Mar 2024
PubMed: 38446994
DOI: 10.1093/cid/ciae102 -
Folia Medica Dec 2019Pleural empyema after pneumonectomy still poses a serious postoperative complication. A bronchopleural fistula is often detected. Despite various therapeutic options... (Review)
Review
INTRODUCTION
Pleural empyema after pneumonectomy still poses a serious postoperative complication. A bronchopleural fistula is often detected. Despite various therapeutic options developed during the last five decades it remains a major surgical challenge.
RESULTS
There is no widely accepted treatment for post-pneumonectomy pleural empyema (PPE) and the management depends mostly on the presence or absence of broncho-pleural fistula (BPF) and the patient’s general condition. In the absence of BPF, the role of surgery is still not clear because of its high morbidity and impossibility to prevent recurrences. In the earlier period, the definitive treatment consisted of open window thoracostomy followed by obliteration of the pleural cavity with antibiotic solution at the time of chest wall closure. Subsequently, the proposed different methods and modifications improved the outcome. There is an association between hospital volume and operative mortality after the lung resection. Hospital volume and the surgeon’s specialty have more influence on the outcome than the individual surgeon’s volume.
CONCLUSIONS
Treatment management of PPE should be individualized. Definitive treatment options comprise aggressive surgery that is not possible in quite a high proportion of impaired patients. Hospital volume, surgeon’s volume and surgeon’s specialty may influence the prognosis.
Topics: Debridement; Empyema, Pleural; Humans; Pneumonectomy; Postoperative Complications; Thoracic Surgery, Video-Assisted
PubMed: 32337865
DOI: 10.3897/folmed.61.e47943