Oral Antibiotics for Children With Pneumonia-Associated Empyema

Investigators from CHOC Children’s Hospital, Orange, CA, conducted a retrospective study comparing the effectiveness of oral versus IV antibiotics to treat children with community-acquired pneumonia with empyema (CAP-Em) after hospital discharge. For the study, they reviewed the inpatient and outpatient medical records of children admitted to their institution with CAP-Em between 2006 and 2016. Potential study participants were identified by ICD-9 or ICD-10 codes and/or review of records of video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery. Only patients who were followed up as outpatients at CHOC Children’s Hospital were included, and children with significant chronic conditions were excluded from the analysis. The inpatient and outpatient medical records of study participants were reviewed, and demographic and clinical information were abstracted. After inpatient treatment with IV antibiotics and empyema drainage, patients were discharged with either oral or IV antibiotics, with IV …