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Karandashova S, Florova G, Idell S, Komissarov AA. From Bedside to the Bench—A Call for Novel Approaches to Prognostic Evaluation and Treatment of Empyema. Front Pharmacol 2022; 12:806393. [PMID: 35126140 PMCID: PMC8811368 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2021.806393] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2021] [Accepted: 12/31/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Empyema, a severe complication of pneumonia, trauma, and surgery is characterized by fibrinopurulent effusions and loculations that can result in lung restriction and resistance to drainage. For decades, efforts have been focused on finding a universal treatment that could be applied to all patients with practice recommendations varying between intrapleural fibrinolytic therapy (IPFT) and surgical drainage. However, despite medical advances, the incidence of empyema has increased, suggesting a gap in our understanding of the pathophysiology of this disease and insufficient crosstalk between clinical practice and preclinical research, which slows the development of innovative, personalized therapies. The recent trend towards less invasive treatments in advanced stage empyema opens new opportunities for pharmacological interventions. Its remarkable efficacy in pediatric empyema makes IPFT the first line treatment. Unfortunately, treatment approaches used in pediatrics cannot be extrapolated to empyema in adults, where there is a high level of failure in IPFT when treating advanced stage disease. The risk of bleeding complications and lack of effective low dose IPFT for patients with contraindications to surgery (up to 30%) promote a debate regarding the choice of fibrinolysin, its dosage and schedule. These challenges, which together with a lack of point of care diagnostics to personalize treatment of empyema, contribute to high (up to 20%) mortality in empyema in adults and should be addressed preclinically using validated animal models. Modern preclinical studies are delivering innovative solutions for evaluation and treatment of empyema in clinical practice: low dose, targeted treatments, novel biomarkers to predict IPFT success or failure, novel delivery methods such as encapsulating fibrinolysin in echogenic liposomal carriers to increase the half-life of plasminogen activator. Translational research focused on understanding the pathophysiological mechanisms that control 1) the transition from acute to advanced-stage, chronic empyema, and 2) differences in outcomes of IPFT between pediatric and adult patients, will identify new molecular targets in empyema. We believe that seamless bidirectional communication between those working at the bedside and the bench would result in novel personalized approaches to improve pharmacological treatment outcomes, thus widening the window for use of IPFT in adult patients with advanced stage empyema.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sophia Karandashova
- Department of Pediatrics, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
| | - Galina Florova
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Biology, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Tyler, Tyler, TX, United States
| | - Steven Idell
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Biology, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Tyler, Tyler, TX, United States
| | - Andrey A. Komissarov
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Biology, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Tyler, Tyler, TX, United States
- *Correspondence: Andrey A. Komissarov,
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Baram A, Yaldo F. Pediatric Thoracic Empyema-Outcomes of Intrapleural Thrombolytics: Ten Years of Experience. Glob Pediatr Health 2020; 7:2333794X20928200. [PMID: 32551331 PMCID: PMC7281637 DOI: 10.1177/2333794x20928200] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2020] [Revised: 03/31/2020] [Accepted: 04/13/2020] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Introduction. Pediatric thoracic empyema is a special entity with increasing frequency. Consensus regarding the best management strategy is still evolving. We describe our single-center 10-year experience adopting intrapleural thrombolytics using tissue plasminogen activator as first-line treatment following failure of simple thoracostomy drainage techniques. Methods. Observational prospective study included all children from 1 day to 18 years admitted for parapneumonic effusion and treated with intrapleural thrombolytics. Results. From January 2008 to December 2018, 95 patients were treated by intrapleural thrombolytics for different stages of empyema thoracis. Number of thrombolytic doses required is 2.1 (range = 1-3), and mean amount of drainage is 1050 mL (range = 400-2500 mL). Mean total days of hospitalization is 7.3 days. Complete re-expansion was the primary outcome in 94 patients (98.9%). Conclusion. Intrapleural thrombolytics in complicated pediatric thoracic empyema results in excellent outcome and should be encouraged particularly in limited resource countries.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aram Baram
- University of Sulaimani, Sulaymaniyah, Kurdistan, Iraq
| | - Fitoon Yaldo
- Kurdistan Board for Medical Specialties, Erbil, Kurdistan Region, Iraq
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