How contagious is a pleural empyema? | What is a pleural empyema?

How contagious is a pleural empyema?

In principle, a pleural empyema and its underlying disease is a contagious clinical picture.In most cases, however, the pleural empyema is encapsulated in the thorax and thus represents a negligible risk of infection. Depending on the pathogen, however, an underlying pneumonia can be contagious. Pathogens can be distributed in particular via the cough secretion, which can lead to infections, especially in cases of immunodeficiencies or particularly contagious pathogens such as tuberculosis. The following article will also provide you with information on whether and how you should protect your fellow human beings in the event of a pleural empyema and underlying pneumonia: How contagious is pneumonia?

Diagnosis of pulmonary empyema

The diagnosis begins with a detailed interview and physical examination of the patient. A pleural empyema is usually preceded by previous lung diseases or severe external injuries, which can be determined by means of a survey. Inflammation of the lung tissue often manifests itself externally as coughing, shortness of breath and fever.

During the physical examination, attenuated breathing sounds and muffled tapping noises on the chest can be heard. The accumulation of pus can be diagnosed on a radiological image, for example an X-ray or computer tomography. In order to identify the effusion in the pleura as an accumulation of pus and, if necessary, to determine an exact pathogen, the effusion can be aspirated with a puncture needle and examined more closely in the laboratory.

  • CT of the lung
  • Puncture – What is behind it?

The x-ray image is the first diagnostic measure after the anamnesis and physical examination. X-rays can reveal coarse tissue types in the chest area, allowing a differentiation between air, fluids, organs and bones. For all diseases of the lung, an x-ray can provide information about the density of the lung tissue, possible inflammation, as well as fluid accumulations in the lung or between the leaves of the pleura.

In pleural empyema, fluid accumulation at the lower edges of the lung can often be detected in the form of a reduction in the transparency of the image. Due to gravity, the fluid accumulates in the lower area near the diaphragm on X-rays. However, it is not possible to distinguish on the basis of the X-ray image what type of effusion is present between the pleural sheets and where the effusion comes from. Therefore, a sample of the fluid must be obtained for a closer diagnosis.