Evaluation of Purulent Pleurisy Activity from Results of Analysis of Passive Electrical Properties of Biological Samples

Abstract

Purulent pleurisy is a secondary disease aggravating inflammation of soft tissues. Purulent pleurisy is most fre� quently caused by acute lung abscess. The pleural cavity is infected lymphogenically or as a result of abscess protru� sion in the pleural cavity with pneumothorax formation. Primary purulent pleurisy results from a penetrating wound to the thoracic cavity (1, 2). Diagnosis of purulent pleurisy is fairly obvious based on physical and Xray examination of a patient. Purulent pleurisy is indicated by high body temperature, severe intoxication, and modified blood count (leucocytosis, increased blood sedimentation rate). Elucidation of purulent pleurisy diagnosis, identification of the infection agent, and optimal antibacterial therapy requires diag� nostic puncture of the pleural cavity and acquisition of a biological sample for laboratory analyses (2). Therapy for purulent pleurisy is usually performed using closing techniques without pleural cavity dissec� tion. The therapy includes daily therapeutic pleural cavi� ty puncture. If this is not successful, a draining tube is inserted into the pleural cavity for continuous aspiration. Closing therapeutic methods usually result in positive effect. However, in some cases (in the presence of dense pus, fibrin, or lung tissue sequester in pleural cavity) closed methods fail and there is a risk of disease transition from acute to chronic form. In this case, thoracotomy is required. In purulent pleurisy therapy treatment tactics effica� cy should be monitored for timely correction, because disease outcome depends on therapeutic adequacy. Presently used Xray, laboratory, and bacteriological methods of examination are timeconsuming and do not provide sufficient periodicity. Therefore, development of operating diagnostic methods providing evaluation of purulent pleurisy dynamics is rather urgent. Methods based on passive electrical properties are comparatively inexpensive, safe, effective, and thus fairly