SynthesisIndian pediatrics2026
Empirical Antibiotic Therapy for the Management of Empyema Thoracis in Children: A Systematic Review.
Synthesis in Indian pediatrics, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
contextEmpyema thoracis necessitates timely empirical antibiotic therapy while awaiting confirmation of microbial etiology. However, there is no evidence-based guidance on this applicable to the Indian context.
objectiveTo systematically review existing literature on empirical antibiotic therapy in empyema and to contribute to an evidence-based guideline for managing childhood empyema in India. EVIDENCE ACQUISITION: A comprehensive search was conducted across PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Scopus, Web of Science, ProQuest, OpenGrey and four clinical trial registries. Studies (any design) describing empirical antibiotic therapy in pediatric empyema were examined to determine the appropriateness of the choice(s) on the basis of the organisms identified subsequently. Clinical outcomes based on antibiotic choices were also evaluated, as was the need to change the empirical choice(s).
resultsThe literature search retrieved 15,887 citations. Following de-duplication and a three-step screening process, 17 studies were included. Cloxacillin was the empirical antibiotic in 10/17 studies (638 children) and was deemed an appropriate choice in six studies (419 children) as Staphylococcus aureus was the dominant pathogen identified. Third-generation cephalosporins were used in 9/17 studies (444 children) and deemed appropriate empirical therapy in four studies (283 children). There was insufficient and inconsistently reported data on clinical outcomes, need to change empirical antibiotics and the overall impact of the empirical therapy on patient-centric outcomes.
conclusionThere is considerable variability in empirical antibiotic selection, but cloxacillin and ceftriaxone were appropriate choices in six and four studies, respectively.
Indexed as
Identifiers
42758457What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.