Abstract
Background: The management of lung abscess may be a challenge in elderly patients undergoing chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy for previous malignancy. Herein, we reported a case series of elderly patients with previous lymphoma undergoing endoscopic treatment followed by pulmonary rehabilitation for lung abscess. Methods: Our study population included a consecutive series of elderly patients with previous lymphoma and lung abscess. Suppurative infection was refractory with specific antibiotic therapy. In all cases, drainage was endoscopically inserted in lung abscess via video-bronchoscopy. This strategy allowed performing daily therapy with the installation of gentamicin directly into the abscess cavity. All patients underwent a respiratory rehabilitation program to speed up convalescence and allow early discharge. Results: After positioning the catheter through a bronchoscopic route and subsequent washing with gentamicin, all the patients in our study showed an improvement in clinical conditions with resolution of fever within a few days of starting the procedure with normalization of blood tests (mean hospital length 7 ± 0.73 days). A follow-up chest computed tomography scan showed a resolution of lung abscess within a mean of 27 ± 1.53 days. Conclusions: Endoscopic treatment with a rehabilitation program may be a valuable strategy for the management of lung abscess that is refractory to standard antibiotic therapy. Further and larger studiesshould be done to confirm our results.
Highlights
Lung abscess is an infectious disease that often does not respond to antibiotic treatment, requiring invasive therapies such as the placement of percutaneous drainage
Daily sampling theinfected infectedmaterial materialthrough throughthe thecatheter catheterallowed allowed serialized serialized culture culture tests tests with daily sampling ofofthe with antibiograms to be carried out, allowing antibiotic therapy to be modified in the case of selection of
The first choice is to set up a broad-spectrum antibiotic therapy, waiting to isolate the pathogen responsible for suppuration by culturing bronchoalveolar lavage.From the results obtained in our study, one of the advantages that we want to underline is the possibility of obtaining, through the catheter positioned endoscopically, repeated samples of the infectious material without the need to perform additional bronchoscopies
Summary
Lung abscess is an infectious disease that often does not respond to antibiotic treatment, requiring invasive therapies such as the placement of percutaneous drainage. The management of lung abscess may be a challenge in elderly patients undergoing chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy for previous malignancy. We reported a case series of elderly patients with previous lymphoma undergoing endoscopic treatment followed by pulmonary rehabilitation for lung abscess. Methods: Our study population included a consecutive series of elderly patients with previous lymphoma and lung abscess. Suppurative infection was refractory with specific antibiotic therapy. Drainage was endoscopically inserted in lung abscess via video-bronchoscopy. This strategy allowed performing daily therapy with the installation of gentamicin directly into the abscess cavity. Results: After positioning the catheter through a bronchoscopic route and subsequent washing with gentamicin, all the patients in our study showed an improvement in clinical conditions with resolution of fever within a few days of starting the procedure with normalization of blood tests (mean hospital length 7 ± 0.73 days)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callMore From: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
