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Review
. 2023 Jan 29;13(2):376.
doi: 10.3390/life13020376.

Pleural Space Infections

Sean P F Foley  1 , John Scott Parrish  1
Affiliations
Review

Pleural Space Infections

Sean P F Foley et al. Life (Basel). .

Abstract

Pleural space infections have been a well-recognized clinical syndrome for over 4000 years and continue to cause significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. However, our collective understanding of the causative pathophysiology has greatly expanded over the last few decades, as have our treatment options. The aim of this paper is to review recent updates in our understanding of this troublesome disease and to provide updates on established and emerging treatment modalities for patients suffering from pleural space infections. With that, we present a review and discussion synthesizing the recent pertinent literature surrounding the history, epidemiology, pathophysiology, diagnosis, and management of these challenging infections.

Keywords: empyema; interventional pulmonology; parapneumonic effusion; pleural disease; pleural effusion; pleural infections; pleural sepsis; pneumonia; pulmonary infections; unilateral pleural effusion.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors are military service members or employees of the U.S. Government. This work was prepared as part of official duties. Title 17, U.S.C. §105 provides that copyright protection under this title is not available for any work of the U.S. Government. Title 17, U.S.C. §101 defines a U.S. Government work as work prepared by a military service member or employee of the U.S. Government as part of that person’s official duties. The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Department of the Navy, Department of Defense, nor the U.S. Government.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
A schematic representation of the pathophysiology, diagnostic findings, and management strategies for pleural space infections.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Split Pleura Sign. Panel (A) shows contrast enhancement of both the visceral and parietal pleura (arrows) in a patient with empyema (windowing optimized to show pleural enhancement). Panel (B) shows a non-contrast study in the same patient several days prior. Comparison of the two images demonstrates the value of contrast when evaluating patients with suspected pleural space infections.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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