Characteristics and outcomes of pleural infection patients in a Middle Eastern hospital

Abstract

<bold>Background:</bold> the epidemiology and outcomes of adult pleural infection (PI) is not uniform across the world. This study aimed to describe a cohort of patients with PI treated in a hospital in Egypt and to compare their data with a large cohort from Western countries (the PILOT study, ref). <bold>Methods:</bold> adult patients with PI treated at a university hospital in the north of Egypt were enrolled into a prospective observational study. Demographic, clinical, treatment and outcomes data were collected. <bold>Results:</bold> 80 patients were enrolled, mean age 44.8+13.6y, and 61 (76.3%) males. The median RAPID sore was 2 [1-3]. 43 (54%) patient had evidence of poor dentition. 55/75 (73.3%) of the infections were primary (as opposed to parapneumonic infections). Culture or gram stain were positive in 38/66 (57.6%) patients.12 patients (15%) underwent medical thoracoscopy as part of their medical treatment. Inpatient mortality was encountered in 1/80 patient (1.3%). The clinical and outcomes data are compared with those of the PILOT cohort in the table. <fig><object-id>erj;66/suppl_69/PA729/F1</object-id><object-id>F1</object-id><object-id>F1</object-id><graphic></graphic></fig> <bold>Conclusion:</bold> Data from this well characterised PI cohort suggest that the patients are typically younger, are offered different treatments and have varying outcomes from large (predominantly Western) series in literatures. These differences are important to consider in the design and interpretation of future studies. Ref: Corcoran et al. ERJ 2020 56(5): 2000130.