BHU doctors conduct a study to help avoid surgery in thoracic empyema cases

This is a first of its kind study and could help in suggesting alternative treatment strategies to avoid surgery

January 21, 2022

IMS-BHU study aims to avoid surgery for thoracic patients

A team of doctors led by Prof. Siddharth Lakhotia at the Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University (IMS-BHU), has conducted a study on the surgical outcome of thoracic empyema patients.

The team, including Prof. Siddharth Lakhotia, Dr. Narendra Nath of the department of CTVS, and Prof. Ashish Verma of the department of radiodiagnosis conducted the study.

This is a first-of-its-kind study and could help in suggesting alternative treatment strategies to avoid surgery. The study assumes significance as till now all such cases were being put to surgery but, the research indicates alternate ways of treatment in particular cases.

The official Twitter handle of the Banaras Hindu University informed by tweeting, “#BHUResearchFlash #MakingBHUProud A team of doctors at #IMS,#BHU, has conducted 1st of its kind study on the surgical outcome of thoracic empyema patients and its relation to the pre-operative clinical and radiological (CECT thorax) findings

#BHUResearchFlash #MakingBHUProud
A team of doctors at #IMS,#BHU, has conducted 1st of its kind study on surgical outcome of thoracic empyema patients and its relation to the pre-operative clinical and radiological (CECT thorax) findings. @VCofficeBHU pic.twitter.com/RjTE1DpcqC

— BHU Official (@bhupro) January 20, 2022

Prof Lakhotia said, “The study is about the surgical outcomes of empyema (pus in the thoracic cavity) patients and its relation to the pre-operative clinical and radiological (CECT thorax) findings. It was carried out to predict the outcome of the surgery, based on pre-operative parameters so that in cases where surgery may not be useful, they can be subjected to an alternate treatment strategy from the beginning.”

He said that the study found that in cases where the remaining volume of the affected or diseased lung in the CECT thorax is more or equal to 59 percent of the normal lung, the chance of complete expansion of that lung after surgery was good.

He added, “It has been observed that the pre-operative remaining volume of the affected lung (residual lung) can determine the surgical outcome along with other parameters; like the completeness of decortication (surgery done to remove the pus in the thoracic cavity and thickened membrane, that compresses the lung and prevents it from complete expansion), presence or absence of air leak from lung preoperatively.”

According to him, pre-operative residual lung volume can be determined by the CECT thorax (CT morphometry – measurements of empyema, lung, the thickness of pyemic membrane).

In the study, it was discovered that the residual volume of the involved lung, expressed as a percentage of the normal opposite lung volume, predicted the complete expansion of the lung with a sensitivity of 71 percent and specificity of 70 percent.

[With Inputs from IANS]

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