Parapneumonic effusions, empyema doubled in U.S. over past decade

Grijalva et al analyzed the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (data from U.S. hospitalizations) and found that the rate of hospitalization for parapneumonic empyema doubled from 3 per 100,000 in 1996, to 6 in 2008. The rate of empyemas due to Streptococcus pneumoniae was stable; the increases were in non-pneumococcal infections like Staphylococcus. Mortality was unchanged overall at 7-8%, but staph empyemas had the highest mortality and longest lengths of stay, unsurprisingly. Thorax 2011;66:663-668. FREE FULL TEXT