Empyema Resuscitans

To the Editor: “Empyema necessitatis,” a term of obscure origin,¹ has been defined as a pleural infection that “will invade the chest wall in an intercostal space and, if untreated, will establish drainage through the skin.”² We have had a patient whose condition might appropriately be described as an example of “empyema resuscitans.” A 77-year-old woman with a history of mixed histiocytic and lymphocytic lymphoma and recurrent gram-negative bacillary sepsis was transferred to the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center of Pennsylvania State University. Physical examination detected dullness to percussion at the base of the left lung, as well as … No extract is available for articles shorter than 400 words.