Co-existence of posttraumatic empyema thoracis and lung abscess in a child after blunt chest trauma: a case report.
Posttraumatic empyema is a rare complication of trauma with an incidence of 1.6-2.4% in trauma patients. However, it is rarely reported in children. We report the case of a 15-year-old boy who was involved in a traffic accident and diagnosed with a pulmonary contusion at a local hospital. Fourteen days after the accident, posttraumatic empyema thoracis and lung abscess developed with clinical presentations of fever, productive cough and right chest pain. He was successfully treated with computed tomography-guided catheter drainage and intravenous cefotaxime. We emphasize that posttraumatic empyema thoracis and lung abscess are very rare in children, and careful follow-up for posttraumatic lung contusion is essential. Image-guided catheter drainage can be an adjunctive tool for treating selected patients, although most complicated cases of posttraumatic empyema thoracis require decortication therapy.
Kuo
Chang-Hung
CH
Department of Pediatrics, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
Chen
I-Chen
IC
Lin
Shih-Shiung
SS
Shih
Ming-Chen Paul
MC
Wu
Jiunn-Ren
JR
Dai
Zen-Kong
ZK
Chao
Mei-Chyn
MC
D000293:Adolescent; D016724:Empyema, Pleural / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D008169:Lung Abscess / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology; D008297:Male; D013898:Thoracic Injuries / Q000150:complications*