Management of parapneumonic pleural effusion in children: Is there a role for corticosteroids when conventional nonsurgical management fails? A single-center 15-year experience.

Objective: Description of the use of corticosteroids for the management of parapneumonic pleural effusion in children.

Methods: Retrospective single-center observational study of all children hospitalized with a diagnosis of parapneumonic pleural effusion during a 15-year period.

Results: We documented 97 cases of parapneumonic effusion during the study period, with a median age (interquartile range [IQR]) of 43 (33-61) months.

Comparison of culture and qPCR for the detection of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in not chronically infected cystic fibrosis patients.

Background: Pseudomonas aeruginosa is the major respiratory pathogen causing severe lung infections among CF patients, leading to high morbidity and mortality. Once infection is established, early antibiotic treatment is able to postpone the transition to chronic lung infection. In order to optimize the early detection, we compared the sensitivity of microbiological culture and quantitative PCR (qPCR) for the detection of P.