Empyema thoracis--a prospective study on 73 patients.

A prospective study of empyema thoracis was conducted on 73 consecutive patients. The pathogenesis and bacteriological features of the condition and its clinical course and management are recorded and analysed. Pleural cultures revealed that the predominant pathogen was Staphylococcus aureus. Fifty of 65 patients had mixed isolates on pleural culture, with a 4:1 ratio of aerobes to anaerobes. Twenty per cent of the patients had anaerobic empyemas. The underlying lesion was parenchymal lung disease in 37 cases and an infected hemopneumothorax following penetrating injury in 26. The remaining 10 patients developed empyema after pulmonary resection. The empyema resolved completely in 81% of the patients.