title: Empyema: development of a critical pathway.
abstract: Over the past 20 years at the authors' institution, the management of empyema has evolved. The authors recently have developed a critical pathway in an effort to facilitate diagnosis, guide therapy, and reduce cost. Currently, the average length of stay using this pathway is 4 to 5 days with decreased cost compared to the historic length of stay and a national children's hospital database. The authors review steps to develop a critical pathway as well as discuss their pathway for empyema management.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Surgery University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and Arkansas Children's Hospital, Little Rock, AR 72202, USA.
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Finck
authors.forename: Charles
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wagner
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Jackson
authors.forename: Sam
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Smith
mesh_terms: D001131:Arkansas; D002648:Child; D019091:Critical Pathways; D004653:Empyema / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D007902:Length of Stay; D020775:Thoracic Surgery, Video-Assisted; D013907:Thoracostomy; D014463:Ultrasonography