Empyema
Empyema is infected fluid or pus collecting in the space around the lungs.
When to get help quickly: Empyema needs prompt medical review because infection around the lung can worsen quickly and may require antibiotics and drainage.
Common symptoms
Symptoms often include fever, chest pain, shortness of breath, cough, tiredness, and feeling increasingly unwell, often after pneumonia or chest infection.
When imaging helps
Imaging helps show the infected fluid, whether it is simple or loculated, and whether drainage or chest tube placement is needed.
What radiology does
Chest X-ray, ultrasound, and CT help show the fluid and can guide drainage planning or chest tube placement.
What usually happens next
Treatment often includes antibiotics and drainage, with surgery sometimes needed in more advanced or loculated cases.
Seen this on your report?
Your doctor or the radiologist who wrote it can tell you what it means for you.