ArticleGeneral thoracic and cardiovascular surgery2021
Optimal timing of video-assisted thoracic surgery for acute pyothorax: a retrospective study.
Article in General thoracic and cardiovascular surgery, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.
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Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed, 6 citations in OpenAlex.
- Empyema space rate: a quantitative predictor of postoperative drainage duration after surgery for acute empyema.General thoracic and cardiovascular surgery · 2026Article
- Superiority of Surgical Treatment in Stage 2 Acute Empyema: A Perspective on Lung Volume Improvement.Cureus · 2025Article
- Pleural infection: controversies on the therapeutic strategies.Current opinion in pulmonary medicine · 2025Review
- Optimal timing for video assisted thoracic surgery decortication for improved survival in chronic empyema.Scientific reports · 2024Observational
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Authors and funding
9 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveAlthough the value of video-assisted thoracic surgery for acute pyothorax is becoming widely recognized, the optimal timing of surgery has not been established. Therefore, we aimed to determine the optimal timing of video-assisted thoracic surgery in acute pyothorax.
methodsWe retrospectively reviewed 38 consecutive video-assisted thoracic surgeries performed for acute pyothorax between January 2013 and December 2017 at our institution. Data were analyzed using the independent samples t test and Mann-Whitney U test. A receiver-operating characteristic curve was used to identify the optimal time for intervention.
resultsThe average time from disease onset to surgery was 17.9 days, and the average preoperative drainage period was 8.3 days. The operation was completed in all patients with video-assisted thoracic surgery curettage and drainage under general anesthesia; single lung ventilation was administered, and one or two thoracic drains were placed. The average postoperative drainage period was 10.8 days. Intraoperative complications were observed in two cases; no perioperative death occurred. Additional surgery was performed in four cases because of poor treatment response. There was no recurrence of pyothorax over a mean postoperative follow-up period of 42.5 months. A receiver-operating characteristic curve showed that the cut-off time from disease onset to surgery was 21.0 days; complication rates were 14.3% and 25.0% for patients operated on before and after 21 days, respectively.
conclusionsThoracoscopic surgery for acute pyothorax is safe and curative, and should be performed within 21 days of disease onset to avoid postoperative complications.
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