Hwei-Kang Hsu

The Surgical Management of Empyema Thoracis in Substance Abuse Patients: A 5-Year Experience

Postpneumonic empyema (EMP) may develop in substance abuse patients, requiring prolonged hospitalization. An algorithm that provides quality care and a rational basis for timely surgical intervention would be advantageous. We report our five-year experience with EMP in substance abuse patients and present such a treatment plan. Sixty-one substance abuse patients were treated for EMP. Posteroanterior, lateral, and decubitus x-ray studies were obtained before treatment to assess fluid movement. Chest tubes were placed to drain frank pus and to obtain material for positive smears. X-ray studies and computed tomography were done 24 hours later to assess parenchymal pathology and to detect any multiple loculations. Thirty-three substance abuse patients recovered following initial tube thoracostomy and 7 after a second chest tube was introduced. Twenty-one had multiple loculations and underwent thoracotomy. Twenty of the 21 required extensive debridement or decortication, or both; 2 required lobectomy and 1 pneumonectomy. Chest tubes were removed on an average of 6 +/- 1.5 days. Average postoperative stay was 10.7 +/- 2 days. There were 2 early deaths and 1 late death and no recurrent EMP. Bacteriology findings were nonspecific and often polymicrobial. We conclude that early thoracotomy can be lifesaving in the presence of a benign clinical course.

Aspiration of Foreign Bodies in Adults With Personality Disorders: Impact on Diagnosis and Recurrence

Most cases of foreign-body aspiration are accidental events in children, whereas the majority of adults will have neurological dysfunction, trauma, alcohol abuse, or psychological disorders. Much has been written about psychiatric patients engaging in self-mutilation such as cutting and burning, but little is recorded about deliberate aspiration of objects in these patients, who clinically can be separated into 4 groups: (1) malingering, (2) psychosis, (3) pica, and (4) personality disorders. The immediate psychological gain for these patients is unclear, as the act is insidious with no evidence of intentional harm or immediate danger. Thus, they are considered as being parasuicidal events designed to diminish other psychological processes. Aspirated objects that are not immediately dislodged by coughing, choking, or gagging require surgical intervention. Most of these patients usually come to the attention of a psychiatrist, but such intervention does not prevent recurrences. We discuss a schizophrenic patient who aspirated multiple coins while under psychiatric treatment for prior episodes of aspiration of coins, ingestion of objects, and insertion of others in his urethra and rectum, while also reviewing some of the diagnostic and therapeutic challenges inherent in the management of these patients.