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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Thorac Cardiovasc Surg Rep 2023; 12(01): e51-e53
DOI: 10.1055/s-0043-1771197
Case Report: Thoracic

Postpneumonectomy Empyema in the Presence of COVID-19 Pneumonia after Non-COVID-19 ARDS

Veronika Leneis
1   Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular surgery, Faculty of medicine, Clinic of university, Eberhard-Karls-University Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
,
Attila Nemeth
2   Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Clinic of University, Tuebingen, Baden Württemberg, Germany
,
Christian Schlensak
2   Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Clinic of University, Tuebingen, Baden Württemberg, Germany
,
Volker Steger
2   Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Clinic of University, Tuebingen, Baden Württemberg, Germany
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Abstract

Development of pleural empyema with or without bronchopleural fistula following pneumonectomy presents a major complication with a mortality of 10 to 20%. The surgical goals of bronchopleural fistula treatment are infection control, pus drainage, and lung re-expansion. The main goal is closure of the fistula. This can be achieved with various surgical methods, such as the Clagett or accelerated Weder procedure, omentoplasty, or a transpericardial approach, according to Abruzzini. We present the case of a 58-year-old patient with pleural empyema within the postpneumonectomy cavity in the presence of severe COVID-19 pneumonia after non-COVID-19 acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) therapy. The patient had undergone right-sided pneumonectomy for destroyed lung syndrome after invasive pulmonary aspergillosis

Keywords

pleural empyema - pyothorax - SARS COVID-19 infection - pneumonectomy - aspergillosis - bronchial stump insufficiency


Publication History

Received: 14 November 2022

Accepted: 12 December 2022

Article published online:
03 August 2023

© 2023. The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

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