Empyema is infected fluid or pus collecting in the space around the lungs.
Symptoms often include fever, chest pain, shortness of breath, cough, tiredness, and feeling increasingly unwell, often after pneumonia or chest infection.
Imaging helps show the infected fluid, whether it is simple or loculated, and whether drainage or chest tube placement is needed.
Chest X-ray, ultrasound, and CT help show the fluid and can guide drainage planning or chest tube placement.
Treatment often includes antibiotics and drainage, with surgery sometimes needed in more advanced or loculated cases.
This entry explains the condition. The next step is having a radiologist interpret your specific scan, not a general definition.
