Empyema thoracis in patients undergoing emergent closed tube thoracostomy for thoracic trauma.

The vast majority of thoracic trauma victims require only observation or tube thoracostomy for definitive treatment of their thoracic injury. Although tube thoracostomy is generally considered a limited intervention, 2 to 25 percent of patients who undergo this procedure develop infectious complications. To determine the incidence and risk factors for the development of empyema thoracis after tube thoracostomy, a retrospective study was undertaken. We found that the development of empyema thoracis was increased in patients whose pleural space was incompletely drained and whose thoracic catheters were in place for a prolonged period.