Medicine Grand Rounds, Patricia Rivera and Jason Akulian “Empyema Thoracis: Diagnostic Challenges and New Insights into an Old Disease”
This lecture will review the epidemiology, pathogenesis, microbiology and morbidity and mortality of thoracic empyema. Two cases will be used as examples to highlight pitfalls in the diagnosis of empyema. The role of non-invasive studies including thoracic ultrasound and the approach to pleural drainage and interpleural therapy with tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA) and DNase will … Continued