Clinical characteristics and decortication outcomes of bacterial, tuberculous and fungal pleural infection.

Pleural infection leading to empyema is a severe condition marked by accumulated infected fluid in the pleural space. Pneumonia with parapneumonic effusion is its most common precursor. The global incidence of pleural infections has increased significantly, with existing literature mainly focusing on bacterial empyema, leaving a gap in comparative analyses.A retrospective review was conducted on 561 cases of bacterial, tuberculous, and fungal empyema over a 10-year period. The study compared and analysed overall survival rates, 30-day mortality rates after surgery, and clinical characteristics.The three empyema groups displayed distinct clinical characteristics. Fungal empyema had the worst overall survival compared to bacterial and tuberculous empyema, which had similar survival rates based on 30-day and 2-year mortality. Fungal empyema, advanced age, and high Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) score were independent predictors of poor prognosis.Fungal empyema has the highest mortality rate post-decortication surgery. Advanced age and high CCI score are independent predictors of poor prognosis..

Accidental Detection of Tuberculous Empyema at Health Check-Up.

BACKGROUND: Patients with tuberculous empyema (TE) can have a serious impact on lung function as their disease progresses, and, if left untreated, can cause damage to other parts of the body such as the thorax and spine, causing pain and inconvenience to the patient. Early diagnosis and the search for appropriate treatment are key to improving the survival rate of the disease. METHODS: We report a case of a young patient with an unexpected finding of right pleural effusion on physical examination, who was eventually diagnosed with TE using next-generation sequencing of pleural tissue. We analyzed the literature to improve clinicians' understanding of TE and how to properly diagnose and treat the disease. RESULTS: Laboratory results of the pleural effusion suggested a possible Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection, but pathogen-related tests were negative, and the diagnosis was eventually successfully confirmed by thoracoscopic pleural biopsy. CONCLUSIONS: The diagnosis of TE should be considered in young patients with pleural thickening of the empyema. Adenosine deaminase may provide diagnostic direction in patients with unexplained thorax abscess. Pleural biopsy, although an invasive procedure, is an essential diagnostic tool in some cases.

[Uniportal thoracoscopic thorough debridement for tubercular empyema with abscess of the chest wall].

Objective: To examine the feasibility and technical considerations of thorough debridement using uniportal thoracoscopic surgery for tuberculous empyema complicated by chest wall tuberculosis. Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on 38 patients who underwent comprehensive uniportal thoracoscopy debridement for empyema complicated by chest wall tuberculosis in the Department of Thoracic Surgery, Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital, from March 2019 to August 2021. There were 23 males and 15 females, aged (M(IQR)) 30 (25) years (range: 18 to 78 years). The patients were cleared of chest wall tuberculosis under general anesthesia and underwent an incision through the intercostal sinus, followed by the whole fiberboard decortication method. Chest tube drainage was used for pleural cavity disease and negative pressure drainage for chest wall tuberculosis with SB tube, and without muscle flap filling and pressure bandaging. If there was no air leakage, the chest tube was removed first, followed by the removal of the SB tube after 2 to 7 days if there was no obvious residual cavity on the CT scan. The patients were followed up in outpatient clinics and by telephone until October 2022. Results: The operation time was 2.0 (1.5) h (range: 1 to 5 h), and blood loss during the operation was 100 (175) ml (range: 100 to 1 200 ml). The most common postoperative complication was prolonged air leak, with an incidence rate of 81.6% (31/38). The postoperative drainage time of the chest tube was 14 (12) days (range: 2 to 31 days) and the postoperative drainage time of the SB tube was 21 (14) days (range: 4 to 40 days). The follow-up time was 25 (11) months (range: 13 to 42 months). All patients had primary healing of their incisions and there was no tuberculosis recurrence during the follow-up period. Conclusion: Uniportal thoracoscopic thorough debridement combined with postoperative standardized antituberculosis treatment is safe and feasible for the treatment of tuberculous empyema with chest wall tuberculosis, which could achieve a good long-term recovery effect.

Open decortication for patients presenting with stage III tuberculous empyema with low density lines on CT imaging.

To explore the influence of CT findings on the optimal timing of open decorticationin patients with stage III tuberculous empyema. A total of 80 patients with stage III tuberculous empyema who had undergone open decortications were recruited; 44 patients had chest CT findings indicating low-density lines, while 36 patients did not show this imaging finding. Demographic data, perioperative data and preoperative and postoperative chest CT images were collected. In the low-density line group, the duration of disease (P = 0.0030) and the preoperative anti-tuberculosis time (P = 0.0016) were longer than those of the group without low-density lines, and the ESR (P = 0.0218), CRP (P = 0.0027) and leukocyte count (P = 0.0339) were lower in the low-density line group. Additionally, in the median operative time (P = 0.0003), intraoperative blood loss (P < 0.0001), volume of catheter drainage during 48 h after operation (P = 0.0067), chest tube duration (P < 0.0001), and length of hospital stay (P = 0.0154) were significantly lower in the low-density line group than in the group without low-density lines. A total of 88.64% of participants in the low-density line group showed hyperplasia with hyaline degeneration in pathological examination, which was observed only in 41.67% of patients without low-density lines. In addition, gaseous necrosis was considerably higher in patients without a low-density line (P = 0.004), while the low-density line group had a higher rate of treatment success (P < 0.05). Patients with stage III tuberculous empyema presenting with low-density lines around the thickened fibrous pleural rind on preoperative CT imaging may be good candidates for open decortication.

Uniportal versus triportal video-assisted thoracic surgery in the treatment of tuberculous empyema.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the effectiveness of decortication to treat chronic tuberculous empyema (TE) using uniport video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) versus conventional triport VATS. METHODS: Data from consecutive patients with stage II or III TE who underwent decortication with either uniport VATS (uniportal group) between July and December 2017, or triport VATS between January and July 2018 (triportal group), were retrospectively analysed. VATS procedures were performed under general anaesthesia with double lumen endotracheal intubation and clinical outcomes were compared between the two groups. RESULTS: Clinical data were comparable between the groups (20 patients in each) regarding demographic and baseline characteristics, operative and postoperative characteristics, surgical procedure-related complications, and postoperative adverse events. No surgical procedure-related complications occurred during the perioperative period in either group. Threshold values for mechanical pain at 8 h postoperatively were significantly higher in the triportal group versus the uniportal group. Furthermore, the incidence of nausea and vomiting was significantly lower in the uniportal versus triportal group. In the triportal group, one patient required readmission and further intervention due to recurrence. CONCLUSIONS: Uniport VATS decortication for stages II and III TE may be a feasible and safe procedure in selected patients. Moreover, uniport VATS may be less painful than triport VATS.

[Efficacy of video-assisted thoracoscopic surgical decortication for stage â ¢ tuberculous empyema].

Objective: To investigate the clinical efficacy, safety and feasibility of "double-portal" video-assisted thoracoscopic surgical(VATS) decortication among patients with stage Ⅲ tuberculous empyema, and then to evaluate the recovery of chest deformity. Method: This study was a single center retrospective study. A total of 49 patients with stage Ⅲ tuberculous empyema who underwent VATS pleural decortication at the Department of Thoracic Surgery, Public Health Clinical Center of Chengdu between June 2017 and April 2021 were enrolled, including 38 males, and 11 females, aged 13-60 (27.5±10.4) years. The safety and feasibility of VATS were further evaluated. The inner circumference of the chest on sternal and xiphoid planes on chest CT scans before and 1, 3, 6, 12months after decortication were collected through the measuring software of the CT. The samples in-pair test was used to compare the changes in the chest to reflect the recovery of the chest deformity. Results: In the 49 patients, The surgical time was (186±61) min, and the volume of blood loss was (366±267) ml. There were 8 cases (16.33%) with postoperative complications during the perioperative period. Constant air leak and pneumonia were the main postoperative complications. No relapse of empyema or dissemination of tuberculosis occured during the period of follow-up. Before surgery, the inner thoracic circumference of the thorax at the level of the carina plane was (655±54) mm, and the inner thoracic circumference of the thorax at the level of the xiphoid plane was (720±69) mm. Patients were followed for 12-36 months. The inner thoracic circumference of the thoracic cavity at the level of carina was (666±51), (667±47) and (671±47) mm at the 3rd, 6th and 12th months after operation, which were significantly larger than that at the level of carina before operation (all P<0.05). The inner thoracic circumference diameter of the thoracic cavity measured at the xiphoid level at the 3rd, 6th and 12th months after the operation was (730±65), (733±63) and (735±63) mm respectively(all P<0.05).The inner thoracic circumference of the thoracic cavity increased significantly than that before surgery (P<0.05). At 6 months after operation, there was significant difference in the improvement of the inner thoracic circumference of the carina plane in patients with age less than 20 years and FEV1% less than 80% (P=0.015, P=0.003). The improvement in the inner thoracic circumference of the carina plane in patients with pleural thickening≥8 mm compared with those with less than 8 mm was not statistically different(P=0.070). Conclusions: For some patients with stage Ⅲ tuberculous empyema, pleural decortication under thoracoscopy is safe and feasible, and can significantly restore the inner thoracic circumference of the patient's chest, improve the collapse of the patient's chest, and have significant clinical effect. The "double-portal VATS" surgical technology has the advantage of less trauma, wide operation field, large operation space and is easy to master, which is worth further exploring for clinical application.

[Evaluation of uniportal video-assisted thoracoscopic decortication in treatment of drug-resistant tuberculous empyema].

Objective: To examine the safety and efficacy of the uniportal video-assisted thoracoscopic decortication in treatment of drug-resistant tuberculosis empyema. Methods: From January 2018 to December 2020, 122 cases of tuberculous empyema treated by decortication in Department of Surgery, Wuhan Pulmonary Hospital were retrospectively analyzed, including 100 males and 22 females, aged(M(IQR)) 29.5(28.0) years (range: 13 to 70 years). According to the surgical approach and drug resistance, patients with drug-resistant tuberculosis who underwent uniportal video-assisted thoracoscopic decortication were included in group A (n=22), and those who underwent thoracotomy decortication were included in group B (n=28). Drug-sensitive patients who underwent uniportal video-assisted thoracoscopic decortication were included in group C (n=72). There was no statistical difference in the baseline data of the three groups (P>0.05). The operation, early postoperative recovery, and prognosis-related indicators were compared among three groups by Kruskal-Wallis test and χ2 test by Mann-Whitney U test and Bonferroni method between groups A and B, groups A and C. Results: The intraoperative blood loss of group A, group B, and group C was 200(475) ml, 300(200) ml, and 225(300) ml, respectively. There was no significant difference in intraoperative hemorrhage (H=2.74, P=0.254) and treatment outcome (χ2=4.76, P=0.575) among the three groups. Compared with group B, the operation time of group A (302.5(187.5) minutes vs. 200.0(60.0) minutes, U=171.0, P=0.007) and postoperative pulmonary reexpansion duration (4.5(3.0) months vs. 3.0 (2.2) months, U=146.5, P=0.032) were longer, and the postoperative drainage duration (9.5(7.8) days vs. 13.0(10.0) days, U=410.0, P=0.044), and the postoperative hospitalization time (12.0(7.8) days vs. 14.5(4.8) days, U=462.2, P=0.020) were shorter. There was no significant difference in complications between group A and group B (63.6%(14/22) vs. 71.4%(20/28), χ2=0.34, P=0.558). Compared with group C, the postoperative drainage duration of group A (9.5(7.8) days vs. 7.0(4.0) days, U=543.5, P=0.031), the postoperative hospitalization time (12.0(7.8) days vs. 9.0(4.0) days, U=533.0, P=0.031) and postoperative pulmonary reexpansion duration (4.5(3.0) months vs. 3.0(2.0) months, U=961.5, P=0.001) were longer. The operation time (302.5(187.5) minutes vs. 242.5(188.8) minutes, U=670.5, P=0.278), and complications (63.6%(14/22) vs. 40.3%(29/72), χ2=3.70, P=0.054) were not different between group A and group C. Conclusions: For drug-resistant tuberculous empyema, the uniportal video-assisted thoracoscopic decortication can achieve the same good therapeutic effect as drug-sensitive tuberculous empyema, and it is as safe as thoracotomy. At the same time, it has the advantage of minimally invasive and can accelerate the early postoperative recovery of patients.

A 2.5-cm single-port video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery for stage III tuberculous empyema: a case report.

BACKGROUND: Stage III tuberculous empyema is a common disease of tuberculosis. Traditionally, it has been treated by thoracotomy or video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery with two to four incisions. But conventional surgery has large trauma, large bleeding volume and long recovery time. To our knowledge it is the first report of surgery for stage III tuberculous empyema with a mini single-port approach. CASE PRESENTATION: A 23-year-old woman admitted to our hospital with complaints of intermittent chest pain for half a year. We got the diagnosis of stage III tuberculous empyema after medical treatment. Considering that the patient was young and unmarried, we decided to perform minimally invasive pleural decortication through a 2.5 cm single port. The operation time was 240 min, and blood loss was 100 ml. The patient recovered well and postoperative pain was mild. CONCLUSION: This case demonstrates that single-port VATS with a smaller incision for the Stage III tuberculous empyema should be considered in well selected patients.

The efficacy and safety of uniportal video-assisted thoracic surgery on the treatment for stage II-III tuberculous empyema: a single-arm clinical retrospective study from 2016 to 2021 in a thoracic surgery center in China.

BACKGROUND: Surgery is an important adjuvant treatment for tuberculous empyema(TE). We thus conducted a single arm-clinical retrospective study of stage II-III TE patients who underwent uniportal video-assisted thoracic surgery (Uni-VATS) over a 5-year period to evaluate the efficacy and safety of surgery on TE, so as to provide the evidence for the optimal clinical strategies. METHODS: Patients diagnosed as TE with withdrawal of anti-tuberculosis-VATS were retrospectively enrolled from January 2016 to December 2021. All patients were followed up untill 12 months after withdrawal of anti-tuberculosis treatment (ATT). Clinical characteristics and surgical details were observed and analyzed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the minimally invasive surgery. RESULTS: Totally 439 cases met included criteria were enrolled, no deaths were reported. The mean operative time was 2.6 (1.9, 4.3) hours and the mean intraoperative blood loss was 356 (240, 940) ml. Blood transfusion was performed in 20.50% (90/439) of patients and additional pneumonectomy was occurred in 9.89%(37/439)of patients .The mean postoperative drainage time was 12 (7, 49) days and the mean hospital stay was 6 (4,12) days. All stage II TE achieved complete lung re-expansion after surgery while 84.22%(315/374) of stage III achieved complete lung re-expansion, p 0.00. 15.78% (59/374) of stage III TE achieved incomplete re-expansion, 4 of which underwent a second decortication by Uni-VATS. Recurrences rate was 2.96% (13/439), including 11 cases of early recurrence and 2 cases of late recurrence at TE stage III, 5 of which underwent a second decortication by Uni-VATS. CONCLUSION: Uni-VATS is highly effective safe and minimally invasive for patients with TE, which could be recommended as the mainstream operation in areas with high TB burden.

Repair of pectus excavatum in a patient with an Eloesser thoracostomy window: sequential extrapleural Nuss procedure and modified Ravitch procedure.

A 28-year-old man with a history of tuberculous empyema and pectus excavatum visited our hospital for progressive dyspnea and leg edema. The patient had undergone an Eloesser window operation for repetitive pleuro-cutaneous fistula due to chronic tuberculous empyema in the left thorax one year prior. Chest computed tomography demonstrated severe compression of the right ventricle and inferior vena cava and chronic empyema with the Eloesser window in the left thorax. Because conservative treatment had failed, the patient underwent a total extrapleural Nuss procedure, resulting in marked relief of compression and complete resolution of leg edema and congestive hepatopathy. However, he required ventilation support due to carbon dioxide retention. Therefore, the patient underwent a modified Ravitch procedure and was weaned off ventilation support. Herein, we represent the first report of a sequential extrapleural Nuss procedure and a modified Ravitch procedure in a patient with chronic tuberculous empyema with an Eloesser window.

Angiosarcoma of breast and chest wall complicated with tuberculous empyema: A case report.

Angiosarcoma is a highly malignant endothelial tumor, accounting for 1% to 2% of soft tissue sarcomas. The most common site of the disease is the skin, accounting for approximately 60% of cases, especially the skin of the head. It can also occur in soft tissue, bone, and retroperitoneum. However, angiosarcomas of the breast and chest wall are rare. Here, we report a 44-year-old woman who was admitted to hospital with encapsulated empyema. She was subsequently diagnosed with angiosarcomas of the breast and chest wall with tuberculous empyema. At the same time, we also reviewed the current research progress in angiosarcoma of the breast and chest wall to explore better treatment options for these patients.

Surgical outcomes and the factors affecting lung expansion following open window thoracostomy in chronic tuberculous empyema with destroyed lung.

BACKGROUND: Patients with chronic tuberculous empyema and destroyed lung on a prolonged intercostal tube with failed lung expansion considered unsuitable for single-lung ventilation have poor outcomes. The study's objective was to analyze the surgical outcomes and lung expansion factors in these patients following the open window thoracostomy (OWT) procedure. METHODS: In a prospective study, patients (males = 63, females = 12) diagnosed with tuberculosis who underwent OWT were analyzed between 2017 and 2018. Factors including age, sex, side, comorbidities, body mass index (BMI), bacteriological culture, and patency of OWT site were evaluated for lung expansion. RESULTS: Mean preoperative weight 40.96 ± 5.70 kg increased significantly postoperatively. Pseudomonas aeruginosa (30.66%) was the most typical organism isolated and smoking (21.3%) was the common risk factor. At 6-month follow-up, complete lung expansion was noted in 60% of patients, while partial and no expansion is seen in 17.3% and 22.3% patients. Similarly 82.4% patients with pre-operative BMI>18.5 kg/m2 had complete lung expansion, while with BMI < 18.5 kg/m2, 41.7% and 45.8% had partial and no-expansion. Complete lung expansion was seen in 97.1%, 18.2%, and 23.1% of patients with obliterated OWT, sputum, and pleural pus positive for acid-fast bacilli (active disease), while in 57.9% of patients with comorbidities, complete lung expansion was absent. CONCLUSION: The analysis of various factors concludes that lung expansion is not affected by age, sex, side of the disease, and co-morbid conditions; however, extensively diseased lungs with low BMI and positive bacteriological culture, especially P. aeruginosa, active disease, smoking, and patent OWT, interfered with the expansion of the lung.

A nomogram to predict residual cavity formation after thoracoscopic decortication in chronic tuberculous empyema.

OBJECTIVES: The goal of this study was to develop and validate a nomogram for predicting residual cavity formation after video-assisted thoracoscopic decortication in patients with chronic tuberculous empyema (CTE). METHODS: We retrospectively analysed patients who were diagnosed and treated for CTE at our hospital from January 2017 to December 2020. We used univariable and binary logistic regression analyses to identify independent risk factors. A predictive nomogram was developed and validated for predicting the risk of residual cavity formation after video-assisted thoracoscopic decortication in patients with CTE. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) was used to evaluate the nomogram. RESULTS: Data from 103 patients were analysed. The contact area between the lung and empyema (P = 0.001, odds ratio [OR] 1.017, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.007-1.028), calcification (P = 0.004, OR 0.12, 95% CI 0.029-0.501) and thickness of the pleura (P = 0.02, OR 1.315, 95% CI 1.045-1.654) were risk factors for residual cavity formation after video-assisted thoracoscopic decortication. A 50% residual cavity formation rate was used as the cut-off to validate the nomogram model. The area under the ROC curve for the nomogram was 0.891 (95% CI, 0.82-0.963). The sensitivity and specificity of the nomogram were 86.67% and 82.19%, respectively. The calibration curve indicated good consistency between the predicted and actual risks. CONCLUSIONS: The preliminary nomogram could contribute to preventing postoperative residual cavity formation and making appropriate surgical decisions.

Clinicopathological outcome in 27 children with tuberculous empyema in Shandong Provincial Chest Hospital, Jinan, China.

The literature on childhood tuberculous empyema (TE) is limited. The aim of this study was to examine the clinicopathological characteristics and outcome of paediatric TE and methods of prompt diagnosis and treatment. Between January 2014 and April 2019, 27 consecutive patients with TE aged ≤15 years [mean (SD) 12.2 (3.3), range 6-15] were retrospectively reviewed. The following were reviewed: baseline demographics, symptoms, laboratory and pathological examination, radiographical findings, microbiological data, anti-tuberculous and surgical treatment and clinical outcome. Acid-fast bacillus (AFB) smear, culture, TB real-time (RT) polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and T-SPOT.TB assay were reviewed. Six (60%) of 10 patients were TB-RT-PCR-positive in pus or purulent fluid. Twenty-three of 24 (95.8%) were T-SPOT.TB-positive. Decortication by surgical thoracotomy or thoracoscopy was performed in 22 (81.5%) patients. None of the 27 patients had specific complications such as pyopneumothorax or bronchopleural fistula and all were successfully treated. In childhood TE, aggressive surgical management is associated with a favourable outcome.Abbreviations: AFB, acid-fast bacilli; E, ethambutol; EPTB, extra-pulmonary TB; H, isoniazid; HIC, high-income countries; LMIC, low- and middle-income countries; MTB, Mycobacterium tuberculosis; PCR, polymerase chain reaction; PTB, pulmonary TB; R, rifampicin; RT, real time; TB, tuberculosis; TE, tuberculous empyema; Z, pyrazinamide.

CAUSES OF SUPERINFECTIONS: DEADLY BACTERIA OF TUBERCULOSIS.

OBJECTIVE: The aim: To improve early diagnosis of drug-resistant superbacteria and interrupt the ways of its formation through molecular technological and surgical methods. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Materials and methods: The operated patients were divided into two groups: group 1 - 351 (51.25 %) patients, who were operated with the use of minimally invasive technologies, and this was the main group; group 2 - 334 (48.75 %) patients who were operated on open wide thoracotomy, which was the comparison group. Among 351 patients in the main group, in 301 - acute pleural tuberculous empyema was detected, and in 50 - chronic one. Among patients in the comparison group, acute pleural empyema was observed in 284 patients and chronic in 50 patients. RESULTS: Results: According to our data, video thoracoscopy is a highly informative method of diagnosis of pleural effusions, detection of pleural tuberculous empyema in the first, second and third stages of its development. CONCLUSION: Conclusions: The introduction of modern molecular-geneticand surgical technologies will allow to accurately establish the etiology process, to conduct the identification of pathogen microorganisms and to determine the phenotymetric and genotytypical sensitivity of bacteria to Antimycobacterial drugs. Such diagnostics will promote effective treatment of patients who are already infected with persistent strains of bacteria and viruses.

[Hepatic cystic echinococcosis complicated with tuberculous empyema misdiagnosed as hepatic and pulmonary cystic echinococcosis: one case report].

Hepatic cystic echinococcosis is a chronic parasitic disease caused by the infection with the larvae of Echinococcus granulosus in human or animal liver tissues. As a chronic active infectious disease, tuberculous empyema mainly invades the pleural space and then causes visceral and parietal pleura thickening. It is rare to present comorbidity for hepatic cystic echinococcosis and tuberculous empyema. This case report presents a case of hepatic cystic echinococcosis complicated with tuberculous empyema misdiagnosed as hepatic and pulmonary cystic echinococcosis, aiming to improve clinicians' ability to distinguish this disorder.

[Uniportal thoracoscopic decortication for stage â ¢ tuberculous empyema of 158 cases].

Objective: To examine the safety and feasibility of uniportal video-assisted thoracoscopic (VATS) decortication in patients presenting with stage Ⅲ tuberculous empyema. Methods: From August 2017 to July 2020, 158 patients of stage Ⅲ tuberculous empyema underwent uniportal VATS decortication with partial rib resection and customized periosteal stripper in Department of Thoracic Surgery, Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital. There were 127 males and 31 females, aged (M(IQR)) 32(28) years (range:14 to 78 years). Follow-up was performed in the outpatient clinic or via social communication applications, at monthly thereafter. If there was no air leak and chest tube drainage was less than 50 ml/day, a chest CT was performed. If the lung was fully re-expanded, chest tubes were removed. All patients received a follow-up chest CT 3 to 6 months following their initial operations which was compared to their preoperative imaging. Results: There was one conversion to open thoracotomy. The operative time was 2.75 (2.50) hours (range: 1.5 to 7.0 hours), and median blood loss was 100 (500) ml (range: 50 to 2 000 ml). There were no perioperative mortalities. There were no major complications except 1 case of redo-VATS for hemostasis due to excessive drainage and 1 case of incision infection, The incidence of prolonged air leaks (>5 days) was 80.3%(126/157). The postoperative hospital stay was 5.00 (2.25) days (range: 2 to 15 days). All patients were discharged with 2 chest tubes, and the median duration drainage was 21.00 (22.50) days (range: 3 to 77 days). Follow-up was completed in all patients over a duration of 20 (14) months (range: 12 to 44 months). At follow-up, 149 patients(94.9%) recovered to grade Ⅰ level, 7 patients to grade Ⅱ level, and 1 patient to grade Ⅲ level. Conclusion: Uniportal VATS decortication involving partial rib resection and a customized periosteal stripper is safe and effective for patients with stage Ⅲ tuberculous empyema.