Empyema in Childhood: A Review of 116 Cases
Abstract
Summary: 116 cases of empyema in children between the age of 2 months and 11 years admitted to the department of paediatrics during a period of 8 years are reviewed. The condition accounts for 10 per cent of annual admissions into the paediatric wards. All ages are affected, but there is a strikingly liigh incidence in children under the age of two years. Staphylococcus pyogenes was the commonest causative organism; it was resistant to penicillin in a majority of the cases. The factors which tend to predispose children to the condition and also influence its course and prognosis include malnutrition, recent measles in section and the presence of anaemia. The recommended method for pleural drainage is thoracotomy and under-water seal drainage.
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