A lung abscess is a local suppuration with the formation of a cavity in the lung parenchyma. This is usually a complication arising from pneumonia: viral, bacterial, fungal or parasitic. Treatment requires antibiotics. Some patients require endoscopic (endobronchial) or transthoracic drainage. In about 10% of cases, there is a need for the surgical removal of a portion of the lung.
Content
- What are the different types of lung abscess
- Antibiotic therapy
- Surgical treatment
The cost of procedures and operations depends on where you undergo your treatment, who performs your treatment and what methods are used. We will help you to select a clinic with the best combination of both affordability and the quality of medical services.
It is better to undergo treatment in a clinic where the doctors specialize in lung abscess therapy and where they have achieved significant progress in this field: the University Hospital Frankfurt am Main, the Academic Hospital Augustinerinnen Cologne, the University Hospital Heidelberg.
Leave a treatment request on the Booking Health website. We will recommend a specialized hospital and a doctor, organize travel to the hospital from your country, book accommodation, take care of interpreting services and insurance. For your maximum comfort, a personal medical coordinator will be in contact with you during the entire process.
What are the different types of lung abscess
A lung abscess can be primary or secondary.
The primary form of the disease is more common. It develops due to pneumonia. Such abscesses are often treated with conservative methods. These abscesses can independently break into the bronchi, this is then accompanied with the release of purulent sputum. Conservative therapy is successful in more than 90% of patients suffering with a primary lung abscess.
The disease proceeds severely in cases with an impairment of the bronchial tree patency, with the formation of atelectasis (airless areas), as well as circulatory disorders in the bronchial and pulmonary vessels. Older age and severe comorbidities are also considered poor prognostic factors.
The secondary form of the abscess has a worse prognosis. This disease develops due to lung cancer, HIV, after a lung transplant, etc. Such forms of the pathology often require surgical interventions but the operation is not always possible due to a person's already weakened state of health.
Antibiotic therapy
Lung abscess treatment involves the use of antibiotic therapy. It is usually systemic. Antibiotics are administered intravenously. It is possible to use two drugs at once to avoid failures due to antibiotic resistance.
After draining the purulent cavity, doctors retrieve material for bacteriological examination. Culture medium inoculation is carried out. After the growth of bacterial colonies, antibiotic susceptibility is identified and assessed. Based on the antibiogram, doctors can choose the most effective therapy.
Some clinics also use regional and local antibiotic therapy. The drugs are injected into an artery that carries blood to the affected area of the lung or through a puncture in the thorax, after the abscess has been surgically drained.
Surgical treatment
Lung abscess treatment often requires abscess sanitation. Doctors use different methods depending on the size and location of the purulent cavity.
Therapeutic bronchoscopy (endobronchial drainage) is a sparing treatment method. This is a minimally invasive procedure that is performed using an endoscopic instrument. The instrument is inserted into the bronchi. Doctors drain off the pus and inject antiseptics.
Percutaneous drainage is the insertion of a thick needle into the abscess cavity to evacuate the purulent contents. The procedure promotes healing of the damaged area of the lung.
Thoracic abscess ostomy is a surgical procedure performed through an incision in the chest. The doctor opens the abscess and places a tube there, through which the pus drains. It is possible to administer drugs into the cavity of the abscess to kill bacteria.
Lung resection is a partial removal of the organ. Depending on the size of the abscess, it may be a segmentectomy or lobectomy. Doctors sometimes resort to non-anatomical resections, which are the removal of a part of the lung without taking into account the anatomical boundaries of the lobes and segments.
Pneumonectomy is the most radical treatment method, involving the removal of the entire lung. It is used in the most severe cases of the disease.
If you are going to have lung abscess diagnostics and lung abscess treatment in Germany, you are encouraged to make use of the Booking Health service. On the company’s website you can find the cost of medical services in different pulmonology departments in Germany and book a medical program at favorable prices. The Booking Health specialists will help you to select a healthcare facility and arrange your trip.
Authors:
The article was edited by medical experts, board-certified doctors Dr. Vadim Zhiliuk and Dr. Sergey Pashchenko. For the treatment of the conditions referred to in the article, you must consult a doctor; the information in the article is not intended for self-medication!
Sources:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Medscape
MedicineNet
