Diagnostic Plan
Frontal and lateral chest radiographs are a mainstay of
diagnosis and are often the only imaging needed when
diagnosing effusions of varying severity (Eslamy & Newman,
2011). Typically, pleural fluid is seen as a homogenous density
that obscures the underlying lung. Large effusions may lead to
a shift of the mediastinum to the contralateral side and small
effusions may simply blunt the costophrenic angle (Kearney,
Davies, Davies, & Gleeson, 2000). Providers may choose to
order a CT scan or ultrasonography to obtain a more detailed
view of the pleural cavity. Ultrasonography will show small
volumes of fluid and information about viscosity. CT will,
however, provide the most information, displaying fluid,
loculation, and thickening of the pleural membranes. Unfortunately,
neither technique can reliably identify the stage of
pleural infection or predict which patients will most likely
benefit from surgical intervention (Kearney et al., 2000). A
thoracentesis or blood cultures may be drawn to confirm the
causative agent. Reported diagnostic yield from pleural and
blood cultures ranges from 60 to 70% (Byington et al., 2002).
Blood cultures are only positive in about 10% of cases of
complicated pneumonia but should be drawn before initiating
antibiotic therapy in children who are hospitalized for
pneumonia in order to better inform the choice of therapy.
The yield from pleural cultures is also often very low due to the
fact that most children have already started antibiotic therapy
(Chibuk et al., 2011). Tuberculin tests are also appropriate for
any child with extensive lung disease, regardless of risk factors.
Patients often present with elevated white blood cell count
with a left shift, meaning that there is an increase in immature
white cells suggestive of an acute infection. Blood cultures
may be positive and thoracentesis will display findings
consistent with an exudate. Pleural fluid commonly contains
neutrophils with bacterial disease and lymphocytes in
tuberculosis effusions. Pleural fluid pH and glucose are
often low in bacterial disease and a pH of less than 7.2
suggests active bacterial infection. Gram stain, cultures, and
counterimmunoelectrophoresis often indicate the offending
organism (Hay, Levin, Sondheimer, & Deterding, 2011).
Therapeutic Plan
The treatment for empyema in children remains
controversial. Children with empyema are hospitalized
and most commonly treated with primary conservative
therapy consisting of antibiotics. However, many other
more invasive treatment modalities including thoracoscopic
tube, fibrinolytics, VATS, and thoracotomy are also used.
Management of effusions is commonly determined by the
degree of respiratory compromise as well as the size of the
effusion. Small and uncomplicated parapneumonic effusions
should not be drained and may be treated with
antibiotics alone. Small effusions are classified as those
with less than a 10 mm rim or with less than one fourth of
the thorax opacified (Bradley et al., 2011). Moderate
effusions that lead to notable respiratory compromise as
well as large effusions (effusions where greater than one
half of the thorax is opacified) should be drained. Recent
studies have shown that primary operative therapy,
specifically thoracotomy or VATS, may be associated
with a lower in-hospital mortality rate, repeat intervention
rate, length of stay, time with tube thoracostomy, and time
of antibiotic therapy, compared with nonoperative treatment
(Avansino et al., 2005). Other studies, however, indicate
that many previously healthy children may be successfully
treated with IV antibiotics alone resulting in shorter
inpatient stays (Carter, Waldhausen, Zhang, Hoffman, &
Redding, 2010).
With the bacterial causes of empyema changing, antibiotic
therapy will also reflect these changes. Clindamycin should
cover MRSA and penicillin-nonsusceptible S. pneumoniae in
nearly all outpatient instances. Either Clindamycin or
Vancomycin should be considered for inpatients depending
on severity of illness (Schultz et al., 2004).
Follow-up Plan
Patients post-hospitalization should have a follow-up
appointment at their primary care office shortly after
discharge. Providers should take each patient's health
history and current physical status into account to
determine an appropriate follow-up schedule. If symptoms
of respiratory distress occur before the office appointment,
such as shortness of breath, wheezing, rapid breathing,
chest pain, or cough, the family should be instructed to
contact the provider immediately. At the follow-up
appointment, providers must assess breath sounds and
monitor for signs of respiratory distress including increased
respiratory rate, retractions and low pulse oximetry
readings. They will also continue to monitor for signs of
persistent infection including fever. If any abnormal history
or physical findings are found, they will want to obtain a
complete blood count and complete metabolic panel and
consider referral to the emergency department. If no
abnormal findings are noted, an additional follow-up visit
can be scheduled in the near future and providers can
instruct the patient's family to contact the office if any
questions or concerns arise.
A Case Study of Pediatric 169
Implications for Practice and Further Research
Nurses across the continuum can ensure that patients with
complicated pneumonias are identified and properly cared
for. Licensed practical nurses and registered nurses working
in tertiary settings should regularly obtain respiratory rate
and pulse oximetry readings in children with respiratory
complaints, as these are reliable indicators to assess the
severity of disease. The providers caring for Eddie, the small
child in the case study above, certainly used these laboratory
values to inform their therapeutic plan. Pediatric providers,
including advanced practice nurses, must be cognizant of the
increased incidence of complicated pneumonias and stay
informed regarding current guidelines and recommendations
for practice. Eddie's providers did not expect his infection to
evolve into a complicated pneumonia and this likely led to a
delay in diagnosis. Nurses working in public health settings
should help to monitor the incidence and prevalence of
complicated pneumonias in their communities and plan
community interventions accordingly. Further research
should examine the incidence of complicated pneumonias
as well as the most common causative agents as these have
recently evolved due to the implementation of H. influenzae
type b and pneumococcal conjugate vaccines. Finally,
further studies need to be done to determine the best
treatment modalities so that patients like Eddie receive the
best care possible.