Management of pleural infection in adults: British Thoracic Society pleural disease guideline 2010

Pleural infection is a frequent clinical problem with an approximate annual incidence of up to 80 000 cases in the UK and USA combined. The associated mortality and morbidity is high; in the UK 20% of patients with empyema die and approximately 20% require surgery to recover within 12 months of their infection.1 2 Prompt evaluation and therapeutic intervention appears to reduce morbidity and mortality as well as healthcare costs.3 This article presents the results of a peer-reviewed systematic literature review combined with expert opinion of the preferred management of pleural infection in adults for clinicians in the UK. The clinical guidelines generated from this process are presented in figure 1. The…