The Approach to the Patient with a Parapneumonic Effusion

Parapneumonic effusions are seen in up to 57% of patients with pneumonia. The majority of these effusions are noninfected and resolve with standard antibiotic treatment for the associated pneumonia. However, parapneumonic effusions in a minority of cases become infected and require prompt chest tube drainage and occasionally thoracic surgery. Patients may present in a variety of ways from florid sepsis to weight loss and anorexia; such diversity mandates a high index of suspicion among physicians. The role of the combination of intrapleural deoxyribonuclease (DNase) and tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA) to aid fluid drainage shows promise but needs further assessment in large trials with surgery and mortality as primary end points.