Ghoor, AMabaso, TMopeli, KIzu, AMadhi, S ALala, S GVerwey, CDangor, Z2025-01-092025-01-092018-11-26Ghoor A, Mabaso T, Mopeli K, Izu A, Madhi SA, Lala SG, Verwey C, Dangor Z. Empyema in children hospitalised at Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital, Johannesburg, South Africa: A retrospective study. S Afr Med J. 2018 Nov 26;108(12):1055-1058. doi: 10.7196/SAMJ.2018.v108i12.13099.10.7196/samj.2018.v108i12.13099https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30606292/https://hdl.handle.net/11288/598109Background: There is a paucity of information on empyema in children from low- and middle-income countries since the introduction of the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine. Objectives: To describe the aetiology and management of empyema in a setting of high HIV and tuberculosis (TB) prevalence. Methods: A retrospective descriptive study was undertaken between January 2012 and December 2016 in children aged <14 years at a large secondary-tertiary referral hospital in Soweto, South Africa. Cases of empyema were identified through administrative databases. Clinical, laboratory and radiological data were extracted from patient records. Results: We identified 65 cases of protocol-defined empyema, including 22 (33.8%) referred from surrounding hospitals. The median age at presentation was 53.2 months (interquartile range (IQR) 19.5 - 103.6). Thirteen patients (20.0%) were HIV-infected and 6 (9.2%) were HIV-exposed but uninfected. A bacterial pathogen was identified in 36 cases (55.3%). The commonest causative organisms were Staphylococcus aureus (14/65, 21.5%) and Streptococcus pneumoniae (5/65, 7.7%). Treatment for TB, initiated in 28 children (43.1%), was more frequent in HIV-infected children (10/13, 76.9%) (p=0.011); however, microbiological evidence of TB was present in only 5 cases (7.7%). Forty-three children (66.2%) had an intercostal drain (ICD) inserted and 16 (24.6%) a pigtail percutaneous catheter, while a fibrinolytic was only used in 6 (10.2%). Eight children (12.3%) had a thoracotomy and 7 (10.7%) had video-assisted thorascopic drainage, all of whom had a prior ICD inserted, a median of 20 days (IQR 10 - 33) before surgery. Overall, 7 children (10.8%) were mechanically ventilated and 1 (1.5%) died. Conclusions: Our study showed a dominance of S. aureus as a cause of empyema. A high proportion of HIV-infected children with empyema were initiated on TB treatment, highlighting challenges in managing TB-HIV co-infection. Although fibrinolytics or early surgery are recommended, neither practice was common in this setting.enarticle2078-5135