title: Treatment of infection associated with tunneled pleural catheters.
abstract: Chronic indwelling tunneled pleural catheters are increasingly used for the treatment of malignant pleural effusions. Some common complications of these catheters include empyema and local site infection. Empyema is generally treated with the removal of the pleural catheter and the administration of systemic antibiotics. We propose a different and more conservative but effective method of the treatment of infected tunneled pleural catheters.
authors.affiliation: *Department of Medicine, Section of Pulmonary and Critical Care †Department of Radiology, Mercy Hospital and Medical Center, Chicago, IL.
authors.forename: Kamran
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mahmood
authors.forename: Charles
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bower