Pleural infection is a severe disease with high mortality and morbidity and is frequently associated with long hospitalizations and high costs for health care.
Pleural infection is more common in men and pneumonia is the most frequent cause of the disease. Patients with pleural infection are more often elderly with high rates of comorbidities and suffer more frequently from immunodeficiency and substance abuse.
Pleural infection is treated with antibiotics and drainage, but the disease often requires surgery. The primary goals of the surgical treatment are the debridement of infected material from the pleural space and to enable the lung to re-expand.
There are only a few studies concerning pleural infections in Northern Europe and no national treatment guidelines exist in Finland. In his doctoral dissertation, Antti Lehtomäki investigated the background, incidence, prognosis, and trends of pleural infections in Finland.
“We reported significant increase of pleural infections in Finland and higher incidence rates than reported elsewhere. The causes are likely an aging population with increasing disease burden and more accurate diagnostics and reporting”, Antti Lehtomäki states.
It was shown in Lehtomäki’s study, that long-term survival was significantly inferior in patients with pleural infections when compared to controls. The study also reported increased need for special health care in patients after pleural infections when compared to controls during follow-up. Most of the later health care visits were due to other reasons than pleural infections, such as pulmonary- and digestive diseases.
The use of video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) as a mini-invasive treatment method has increased when compared to traditional open surgery, due to faster patient recovery without compromising the treatment results. Lehtomäki’s research also showed, that use of VATS increased among surgically treated patients during the study period.
The study increases the knowledge of the disease and helps health care professionals to recognize and choose efficient, timely and individually selected treatments for patients with pleural infections.
Antti Lehtomäki is living in Valkeakoski with his family and is working as a cardiothoracic surgeon in the Tampere Heart Hospital.
Public defence on Friday 27 September
M.D. Antti Lehtomäki’s dissertation in the field of cardiac and thoracic surgery titled Pleural Infection in Finland will be publicly examined at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology at Tampere University at 12 o’clock on Friday 27 September 2024. The venue is auditorium F155 in the Arvo building (address: Arvo Ylpön katu 34, Tampere). The opponent will be Professor Jarmo Gunn from University of Turku. The custos will be Professor Jari Laurikka from the Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University.