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Previous Volume 352:926-928 March 3, 2005 Number 9 Next

	Since this article has no abstract, we have provided an extract of the first 100 words of the full text and any section headings.

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It is paradoxical that Hippocrates established in ancient times the clinical importance of pleural infections, yet only a few high-quality trials have studied this common condition during the intervening 2400 years. Just five years ago, published guidelines for the management of empyema¹ could identify only three relevant controlled trials, with a combined enrollment of fewer than 100 patients. This lack of evidence results partly from difficulties that are inherent in investigating pleural infections, which represent heterogeneous disorders with outcomes strongly influenced by multiple factors that include coexisting illnesses, underlying lung function, the severity of associated pneumonia, the extent of pleural . . . [Full Text of this Article]

Source Information

From the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston.

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