PERCUTANEOUS DRAINAGE OF THORACIC COLLECTIONS

Various infected and noninfected thoracic fluid collections may be dia gnosed and treated by interventional radiologic techniques, The core p rocedure of ultrasound-guided thoracentesis has been expanded to allow catheter drainage of empyema, bronchopleural fistula, abscesses in th e lung, mediastinum, pericardium, and infected tumors, Tailored use of guidance methods permits effective evacuation of most of these absces ses and noninfected collections. This paper details the authors' appro ach to each of these entities while highlighting the results and expec ted pitfalls of these techniques.