BMJ  2006;332:1333 (3 June), doi:10.1136/bmj.332.7553.1333

Letter

Empyema thoracis is still increasing in UK children

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

EDITOR—An increase in empyema thoracis complicating pneumonia in children was reported from the West Midlands in 1997¹ and has since been confirmed in several other centres in the United Kingdom, Europe, and North America. Most culture positive cases in the United States are related to infection with Streptococcus pneumoniae serotype 1.² This is also the most common causative organism in the UK where most cases are culture negative as shown by using pneumococcal polymerase chain reaction and serotype specific enzyme linked immunosorbent assays.³ Until recently, serotype 14 was responsible for most invasive pneumococcal disease in UK children, so the dominant serotype seems to have shifted considerably.

We have observed a further progressive increase in cases since 1997; over the past 12 months the number of cases requiring surgical intervention nearly doubled, to 48 per year. The figure shows the numbers of children requiring surgical intervention who represent 90% . . . [Full text of this article]

david.spencer@nuth.northy.nhs.uk, Regional Cardiothoracic Centre, Freeman Hospital, Newcastle upon Tyne NE7 7DN

Regional Cardiothoracic Centre, Freeman Hospital, Newcastle upon Tyne NE7 7DN

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