The surgical treatment of the pleural empyem]

The treatment results of the 286 patients with pleural empyem after thoracic injuries (n=107) and closed trauma of the pleural cavity (n=179) were retrospectively analyzed. The frequency of pleural empyem was 1.39% by injuries and 1.34% by the closed thoracic trauma. 15 (14%) patients of the first group developed the bronchopleural fistula, whereas the complication was observed in 32 (17.9%) patients of the second group. The adequate pleural drainage with intrapleural enzyme therapy in acute inflammation period allowed recovery in 78% and 71.9% of patients, respectively. Early videothoracoscopic sanation of the pleural cavity shortened the recovery time in more then 1.5 times. The chronization of the empyem was more often observed after the closed thoracic trauma - 14.5% rather than 6.5% after the open thoracic injury. The lethality rate by pleural empyem was 14% after the open injuries and 15.6% after the closed trauma.