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Pleural infection: Changing bacteriology and its implications
Author(s) -
LISBOA THIAGO,
WATERER GRANT W.,
LEE Y.C. GARY
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
respirology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.857
H-Index - 85
eISSN - 1440-1843
pISSN - 1323-7799
DOI - 10.1111/j.1440-1843.2011.01964.x
Subject(s) - bacteriology , medicine , empyema , streptococcus pneumoniae , intensive care medicine , antibiotic therapy , pleural empyema , incidence (geometry) , pneumococcal infections , antibiotics , microbiology and biotechnology , pathology , bacteria , biology , optics , genetics , physics
The incidence of pleural infection continues to rise worldwide. Identifying the causative organism(s) is important to guide antimicrobial therapy. The bacteriology of pleural infection is complex and has changed over time. Recent data suggest that the bacterial causes of empyema are significantly different between adult and paediatric patients, between community‐acquired and nosocomial empyemas and can vary among geographical regions of the world. Since the introduction of pneumococcal vaccines, a change has been observed in the distribution of the serotypes of Streptococcus pneumoniae in empyema. These observations have implications on therapy and vaccine strategies. Clinicians need to be aware of the local bacteriology of empyema in order to guide antibiotic treatment.