There appears to be significant problems remained in the treatment of thoracic empyema inspite of the more potent broad spectrum antimicrobial agents available and improved surgical managements.
Clinical analysis of 60 patients of thoracic empyema was done who received major and/or minor surgical intervention at the Dept. of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Korea University Hospital in the period of 3 years from May 1973 to July 1976.
Following was the results:
1. Male was predominent to female with this ratio of 2.16 to 1, and adult to infant was 2.75: 1.
2. Most frequent predisposing factors of thoracic empyema in infancy and childhood was pneumonia (38.3%), and in adult was pulmonary tuberculosis (36.7%).
3. Cardinal symptoms were dyspnea, fever, chest pain and productive cough etc.
4. Positive result of bacteriological culture study was reported in 26.7%, and among them, Staph. aureus (10%), Diplo. pneumonia (3.3%), Streptococcal group (1.7%), Pseu. aeruginosa (1.7%), Paracolon bacilli (1.7%) and others (8.3%) in respectively.
No growth of pathologic organism was reported in 60.0%, and not requested in 13. 3%. Among the negative group, tuberculosis was confirmed on pathological tissue slide in half and other half was not determined bacteriologically and pathologically.
5. Surgical treatment was performed to the almost all of the patients with closed thoracostomy (48.3%), empyemectomy (28.3%), empyemectomy with pulmonary resection (11.7%) and others (11.6%) in respectively with favorable results.
6. Mortality rate was 8.3% (5 cases), each one with lung cancer, diabetes mellitus, respiratory insufficiency, sepsis and another, two months old infant with asphyxia.
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