From Chest Wall Resection to Medical Management: The Continued Saga of Parapneumonic Effusion Management and Future Directions

Abstract

Pleural space infections have been described since the time of Hippocrates and to this day remains a significant pathology. Every year in the USA approximately there are one million hospital admissions for pneumonia with 20%-40% associated with some form of pleural space infections leading to pleural effusions with increased morbidity and mortality.