Comparison of outcome between sole operation and operation after tube thoracostomy in late phase empyema

Abstract Empyema is a severe and potentially life-threatening condition characterized by infection in the pleural cavity with pus collection. Treatment options include antibiotics, tube thoracostomy, video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) decortication, or open thoracotomy. This study investigated w...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Shao-Syuan Tong, Yi-Ling Chen, Ya-Fu Cheng, Ching-Yuan Cheng, Chang-Lun Huang, Wei-Heng Hung, Bing‑Yen Wang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2025-04-01
Series:Scientific Reports
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-98815-1
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849763360455786496
author Shao-Syuan Tong
Yi-Ling Chen
Ya-Fu Cheng
Ching-Yuan Cheng
Chang-Lun Huang
Wei-Heng Hung
Bing‑Yen Wang
author_facet Shao-Syuan Tong
Yi-Ling Chen
Ya-Fu Cheng
Ching-Yuan Cheng
Chang-Lun Huang
Wei-Heng Hung
Bing‑Yen Wang
author_sort Shao-Syuan Tong
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Empyema is a severe and potentially life-threatening condition characterized by infection in the pleural cavity with pus collection. Treatment options include antibiotics, tube thoracostomy, video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) decortication, or open thoracotomy. This study investigated whether decortication without pre-operative tube thoracostomy results in better outcomes for stage II and III empyema. We included 1042 patients with stage II or III empyema who underwent surgical decortication from January 2012 to December 2021. Among these patients, 713 underwent sole operation, and 329 underwent operation after tube thoracostomy. Patients were classified into two groups: sole operation (713 patients) and operation after tube thoracostomy (329 patients). Primary outcomes were peri-operative and in-hospital characteristics. Secondary outcomes analyzed 1-year overall survival rate and 1-year event-free survival. After 1:1 propensity score matching, 620 patients were included, with each group consisting of 310 patients. The sole operation group had significantly lower hospital mortality and 30-day re-intervention rates and shorter time between diagnosis and operation, operation time, ICU stay, ventilator duration, and hospital stay. The sole operation group also had higher 1-year overall survival and 1-year event-free survival. The first intervention for advanced-stage empyema is crucial. Even when patients ultimately require surgery, pre-operative tube thoracostomy could lead to poorer outcomes. Direct surgical management for stage II and III empyema is simpler and more effective.
format Article
id doaj-art-9fa827893fcf4e479db4d37cb09c834c
institution DOAJ
issn 2045-2322
language English
publishDate 2025-04-01
publisher Nature Portfolio
record_format Article
series Scientific Reports
spelling doaj-art-9fa827893fcf4e479db4d37cb09c834c2025-08-20T03:05:26ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222025-04-011511810.1038/s41598-025-98815-1Comparison of outcome between sole operation and operation after tube thoracostomy in late phase empyemaShao-Syuan Tong0Yi-Ling Chen1Ya-Fu Cheng2Ching-Yuan Cheng3Chang-Lun Huang4Wei-Heng Hung5Bing‑Yen Wang6Division of Thoracic Surgery, Department of Surgery, Changhua Christian HospitalDepartment of Post-Baccalaureate Medicine, College of Medicine, National Chung Hsing UniversityDivision of Thoracic Surgery, Department of Surgery, Changhua Christian HospitalDivision of Thoracic Surgery, Department of Surgery, Changhua Christian HospitalDivision of Thoracic Surgery, Department of Surgery, Changhua Christian HospitalDivision of Thoracic Surgery, Department of Surgery, Changhua Christian HospitalDivision of Thoracic Surgery, Department of Surgery, Changhua Christian HospitalAbstract Empyema is a severe and potentially life-threatening condition characterized by infection in the pleural cavity with pus collection. Treatment options include antibiotics, tube thoracostomy, video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) decortication, or open thoracotomy. This study investigated whether decortication without pre-operative tube thoracostomy results in better outcomes for stage II and III empyema. We included 1042 patients with stage II or III empyema who underwent surgical decortication from January 2012 to December 2021. Among these patients, 713 underwent sole operation, and 329 underwent operation after tube thoracostomy. Patients were classified into two groups: sole operation (713 patients) and operation after tube thoracostomy (329 patients). Primary outcomes were peri-operative and in-hospital characteristics. Secondary outcomes analyzed 1-year overall survival rate and 1-year event-free survival. After 1:1 propensity score matching, 620 patients were included, with each group consisting of 310 patients. The sole operation group had significantly lower hospital mortality and 30-day re-intervention rates and shorter time between diagnosis and operation, operation time, ICU stay, ventilator duration, and hospital stay. The sole operation group also had higher 1-year overall survival and 1-year event-free survival. The first intervention for advanced-stage empyema is crucial. Even when patients ultimately require surgery, pre-operative tube thoracostomy could lead to poorer outcomes. Direct surgical management for stage II and III empyema is simpler and more effective.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-98815-1EmpyemaDecorticationTube thoracostomyOutcome
spellingShingle Shao-Syuan Tong
Yi-Ling Chen
Ya-Fu Cheng
Ching-Yuan Cheng
Chang-Lun Huang
Wei-Heng Hung
Bing‑Yen Wang
Comparison of outcome between sole operation and operation after tube thoracostomy in late phase empyema
Scientific Reports
Empyema
Decortication
Tube thoracostomy
Outcome
title Comparison of outcome between sole operation and operation after tube thoracostomy in late phase empyema
title_full Comparison of outcome between sole operation and operation after tube thoracostomy in late phase empyema
title_fullStr Comparison of outcome between sole operation and operation after tube thoracostomy in late phase empyema
title_full_unstemmed Comparison of outcome between sole operation and operation after tube thoracostomy in late phase empyema
title_short Comparison of outcome between sole operation and operation after tube thoracostomy in late phase empyema
title_sort comparison of outcome between sole operation and operation after tube thoracostomy in late phase empyema
topic Empyema
Decortication
Tube thoracostomy
Outcome
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-98815-1
work_keys_str_mv AT shaosyuantong comparisonofoutcomebetweensoleoperationandoperationaftertubethoracostomyinlatephaseempyema
AT yilingchen comparisonofoutcomebetweensoleoperationandoperationaftertubethoracostomyinlatephaseempyema
AT yafucheng comparisonofoutcomebetweensoleoperationandoperationaftertubethoracostomyinlatephaseempyema
AT chingyuancheng comparisonofoutcomebetweensoleoperationandoperationaftertubethoracostomyinlatephaseempyema
AT changlunhuang comparisonofoutcomebetweensoleoperationandoperationaftertubethoracostomyinlatephaseempyema
AT weihenghung comparisonofoutcomebetweensoleoperationandoperationaftertubethoracostomyinlatephaseempyema
AT bingyenwang comparisonofoutcomebetweensoleoperationandoperationaftertubethoracostomyinlatephaseempyema