National case series of group A streptococcus pleural empyema in children: clinical and microbiological features.

In the autumn of 2022, clinicians working at the Royal Hospital for Children, Glasgow, UK, observed an unusually high number of admissions for paediatric pleural empyema. We questioned whether this high number of admissions was occurring nationally, and, in this preliminary report, we present the clinical, epidemiological, and microbiological characteristics of these cases. Using routine clinical records, microbiology laboratory reports, procedure lists for chest drain insertion, and a list of hospital admissions provided by Public Health Scotland, we identified community acquired pleural empyema cases requiring chest drain insertion from Jan 1 to Dec 27, 2022, at the three tertiary centres doing this procedure in Scotland (Glasgow, Edinburgh, and Aberdeen).