Childhood Empyema in North-East Scotland over the Past 15 Years.

Abstract

The incidence of paediatric empyema is rising in the United Kingdom and North America. The reasons for increasing admissions are unclear. Management in tertiary units is often required. We report our experience in North-East Scotland over the last 15 years. Empyema patients <15 yrs admitted to the Royal Aberdeen Children's Hospital between 1 st January 1990 and 1st June 2006 were identified using discharge coding. Data was collated from case notes. Patient characteristics, microbiology results, hospital stay and management are studied. Twenty eight children (M:F = 1:1) were admitted. Mean age = 6.8 yrs. Twenty seven out of twenty eight presented with localising respiratory symptoms or signs. In 12/28 an organism was isolated. Streptococcus pneumoniae was the commonest isolate, and where polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing was employed, 3/3 cases were serotype 1. Fourteen out of twenty eight required surgery: open (8/14) or thoracoscopic (6/14) decortication. Two thoracoscopic cases proceded to open decortication. No complications were observed. Mean hospital stay = 11.4 days. Twelve were managed in high dependency unit (HDU) with a mean stay of 7.1 days. We demonstrate similar trends in North-East Scotland to those reported elsewhere. Serotype 1 streptococcus pneumoniae is the most isolated. Multi-drug resistance is not seen in our population. A surveillance programme is now established and reasons for the increasing incidence should become apparent.