Thorax
-
Review Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Use of fibrinolytic agents in the management of complicated parapneumonic effusions and empyemas.
Standard treatment for pleural infection includes catheter drainage and antibiotics. Tube drainage often fails if the fluid is loculated by fibrinous adhesions when surgical drainage is needed. Streptokinase may aid the process of pleural drainage, but there have been no controlled trials to assess its efficacy. ⋯ Intrapleural streptokinase probably aids the treatment of pleural infections by improving pleural drainage without causing systemic fibrinolysis or local haemorrhage.
-
To examine the role of exposure to the 1984 Bhopal gas leak in the development of persistent obstructive airways disease. ⋯ Our results suggest that persistent small airways obstruction among survivors of the 1984 disaster may be attributed to gas exposure.
-
Editorial Comment
Is sleep disordered breathing associated with increased mortality?