Postpneumonectomy empyema does not improve survival in bronchogenic carcinoma.

There is much disagreement in the literature about the beneficial effect of postpneumonectomy empyema on survival following operation for bronchogenic carcinoma. We had the opportunity to gather data on 407 patients with this serious complication. The survival data for a group of patients with postpneumonectomy empyema and fistula were compared with those for another group without such complications. Our statistical analysis confirms that postpneumonectomy empyema does not improve life expectancy.