Assessment of the usefulness of video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery in patients with non-tuberculous thoracic empyema.

Abstract

The purpose of this retrospective study was to investigate the effectiveness and the outcomes of video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) treatment and medical therapy (including chest tube drainage, antibiotic treatment) in empyema patients. Thirty-two consecutive patients with thoracic empyema were treated by VATS or tube drainage from 2006 to 2011. An analysis reviewed outcomes between the operation group and the drainage group. In addition, the operation group was divided into two groups for analysis. The drainage period was 15.1±11.3 days in the drainage group and 8.3±4.6 days in the operation group. The length of hospital stay was 22.4±10.0 days in the drainage group and 16.3±5.0 days in the operation group. There were five in-hospital deaths in the drainage group, but no in-hospital deaths in the operation groups. In addition, patients in the early operation group had a significantly shorter hospital stay and postintervention drainage period than patients in the late operation group. VATS for nontuberculous thoracic empyema was more effective than tube drainage and required a shorter hospital stay. The results also indicated that patients who receive early surgical treatment may show better outcomes with late surgical management.