Pulmonary abscess as a complication of COVID-19 associated pneumonia: a clinical case

The article describes a case of polysegmental destructive viral-bacterial pneumonia complicated with acute pulmonary abscess, pleural empyema, and pneumopleurofibrosis in a 50-year-old female patient infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The first clinical, laboratory and radiological signs of purulent-necrotic inflammation appeared only 20 days after receiving a positive RT-PCR test result with a nasopharyngeal swab. A month later, an emerging abscess in the lower lobe of the right lung was diagnosed. Subsequently, it spontaneously drained into the pleural cavity.Coagulopathy with the formation of microthrombi in small pulmonary vessels is one of the causative factors of lung abscess in patients infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

Diagnostic Accuracy of Imaging Findings in Pleural Empyema: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Computed tomography (CT) diagnosis of empyema is challenging because current literature features multiple overlapping pleural findings. We aimed to identify informative findings for structured reporting. The screening according to inclusion criteria (P: Pleural empyema, I: CT C: culture/gram-stain/pathology/pus, O: Diagnostic accuracy measures), data extraction, and risk of bias assessment of studies published between 01-1980 and 10-2021 on Pubmed, Embase, and Web of Science (WOS) were performed independently by two reviewers. CT findings with pooled diagnostic odds ratios (DOR) with 95% confidence intervals, not including 1, were considered as informative. Summary estimates of diagnostic accuracy for CT findings were calculated by using a bivariate random-effects model and heterogeneity sources were evaluated. Ten studies with a total of 252 patients with and 846 without empyema were included. From 119 overlapping descriptors, five informative CT findings were identified: Pleural enhancement, thickening, loculation, fat thickening, and fat stranding with an AUC of 0.80 (hierarchical summary receiver operating characteristic, HSROC). Potential sources of heterogeneity were different thresholds, empyema prevalence, and study year.

Prognostic factors influencing the outcome of empyema surgical management: prospective study in a Moroccan university center.

Background: Pleural empyema is a public health problem, and is the most frequent complication of pleural infection with significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. Our study aims to highlight the management of pleural empyema and evaluate its prognosis factors involved especially in surgical treatment. Patients and Methods: A prospective analysis of 53 patients who underwent surgical treatment of pleural empyema, from January 2015 to December 2019 at the thoracic surgery department in a tertiary referral university teaching hospital. Our study included patients who required surgical treatment for pleural empyema and were excluded patients with destroyed lungs associated with pyothorax. Results: The mean age of patients was 39.24±15.89 years and 79,24% of them were males. In 85.7% of the cases, the etiology was undetermined in 34%, parapneumonic in 1.9%, of tuberculosis in 54.71%, post-traumatic in 11, 3%, postoperative in 7.5% and iatrogenic in 1.9%. 45 patients were treated with broad-spectrum antibiotics therapy adapted after antibiogram 14.38±21.76 days before the operation. A complete debridement and decortications were performed by VATS in 28 and by PLT in 22 patients. No major complications occurred. At a mean term follow-up of 20 months (3months—3 years); all patients were alive with no recurrence. The analysis of the results showed 4 factors of poor prognosis: delay of diagnosis and surgery (P = 0.02), chronic alcoholism (P = 0.034), preoperative ventilation disorder/COPD (P = 0.04) and active tuberculosis (P= 0, 05). Conclusion: The success of surgical management of pleural empyema depends on several factors, which predict the prognosis, but can be prevented.

A Rare Case of Hepatic Abscess That Resolved after Drainage of Pleural Empyema

Empyema has rarely been associated with hepatic abscess. In patients with concurrent empyema and hepatic abscess, hepatic abscess drainage is usually required after drainage of the pleura. We present a rare case of a 91-year-old Caucasian man who presented with a 2-week history of productive cough, fever, shortness of breath, and generalized malaise. The patient was found to have concurrent streptococci empyema and hepatic abscess, and, interestingly, the hepatic abscess resolved after the drainage of the empyema and initiation of antibiotics.

TREATMENT OF BRONCHIAL FISTULA ASSOCIATED WITH NON-SPECIFIC CHRONIC PLEURAL EMPYEMA: Review

The treatment of non-specific chronic pleural empyema with bronchial fistulae remains one of the most relevant issues in thoracic surgery. The question about the treatment phasing of bronchial fistulae associated with chronic pleural empyema is yet to be answered. Is it reasonable to seal a bronchial fistula before or after the sanitation and obliteration of the residual pleural cavity? The choice of bronchial fistula sealing technique is also a relevant issue because, in spite of the multitude of techniques, there is still no single doctrine. The terms of traditional and minimally invasive techniques aimed at bronchial fistula sealing and pleural cavity obliteration are not defined, either. This article summarises the opinions of leading authors presented in the literature concerning the solution of this complex, life-threatening problem.