Could a handheld point-of-care ultrasound system alter the management of patients with pleural infection?

Abstract

Lung ultrasonography is an essential tool in the management of pleural infection. We report the usage of lung point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) using a handheld ultrasound system (HHUS), which changed the immediate management of a complex pleural effusion.A middle-aged diabetic patient presented with fever, dyspnoea and left-sided pleuritic chest pain, suggestive of left pleural infection. Lung POCUS using a HHUS showed a multiloculated pleural effusion with no connections between the locules, and this was confirmed later with CT, along with left empyema necessitans. An upfront video-assisted thoracoscopy was done instead of catheter drainage and intrapleural enzyme therapy. Methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus was grown from the drained pus. The patient was subsequently discharged with prolonged antibiotic treatment.Lung POCUS by a trained physician is useful in deciding the immediate management of pleural infection. Modern HHUS provides a practical and reliable method for identifying and characterising pleural effusion.