[Pleural empyema after closed mitral commissurotomy]. / Empiema plevry posle zakrytoi mitral'noi komissurotomii.

Risk factors, causes and results of the treatment of 63 patients with pleura empyema after closed commissurotomy were studied. The incidence of this complication was 0,77% per 8147 operations. Among the direct causes of empyemas there were infected blood (47,6%) and exudate (41,3%) in the pleural cavity of abscessing infarction-pneumonia (9,5%). Open drainage was found to be the most effective method of the treatment. 81% of the patients recovered. Lethality was 19%, mainly due to pyo-septic complications.